Aluminium Dunkerque has reached a new milestone in its low-carbon strategy with the inauguration on 15 May of Furnace 8, its first dedicated aluminium recycling unit, marking a major step forward in its LowCAL industrial decarbonisation plan.
The new furnace will make it possible to recycle up to 7,000 tonnes of end-of-life aluminium a year (mainly from the automotive, construction and packaging industries) and produce a further 20,000 tonnes of metal with a very low environmental footprint. With this new facility, 25,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 96 GWh of electricity consumption will be avoided every year. Aluminium Dunkerque will thus reduce its CO2 emissions from ingot production by an average of 10%.
Furnace 8 is part of a drive to relocate and reduce aluminium imports, which have a high carbon footprint. ‘Every year, France still exports almost 500,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap that could be recycled locally. By enabling them to be processed on site, Aluminium Dunkerque is strengthening France’s sovereignty in terms of critical metals, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,’ said Guillaume de Goÿs, Chairman of Aluminium Dunkerque.
With an output of 10 tonnes per hour, Furnace 8 represents a state-of-the-art technical solution. It uses the best technologies available, in particular oxy-combustion burners (natural gas and oxygen), which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.