WICONA launches Hydro CIRCAL 100R - the world's first aluminum alloy made from 100% recycled end-of-life aluminum

WICONA is consistently driving forward its commitment to sustainable construction and is the first aluminum system house to introduce high-quality door, window and façade profiles made from 100% recycled end-of-life aluminum to the market. The pioneering aluminum alloy Hydro CIRCAL 100R has the lowest CO2 footprint in the world with an average of 0.5 kg CO2 per kg of aluminum. A decisive step towards a genuine circular economy.

Strong support for WICONA from owner Hydro

With Hydro CIRCAL 100R, WICONA is once again underlining its innovative spirit and its efforts to offer partners in architecture and façade construction sustainable solutions for the planning and realization of future-oriented building envelopes. The company is receiving strong support from its parent company - the Norwegian Hydro Group. This is currently the only producer that can manufacture 100% end-of-life aluminum - i.e. post-consumer scrap - with a CO2 footprint of almost zero. Hydro also operates its own recycling plant in Germany at the Dormagen site. Here, aluminum is collected from windows and facades of dismantled buildings. The material is then shredded and separated from foreign materials and non-metallic substances before being shredded into small “aluminum chips”. These are then processed into CO2-reduced billets, Hydro CIRCAL 100R, at the Hydro plant in Clervaux (Luxembourg). This enables the production of 100% recycled aluminum of first-class quality - without the addition of primary aluminum.

Augsburg Innovation Arc - the world's first project with Hydro CIRCAL 100R

The first construction projects with Hydro CIRCAL 100R are already in the realization phase. The sustainable aluminum alloy is celebrating its premiere at the Innovationsbogen Augsburg (IBA). The lighthouse project planned by Hadi Teherani Architects impresses with its arch-shaped architecture and holistic sustainability concept and is aiming for LEED Platinum certification. A total of 130 tons of Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminium profiles were produced for this and another pioneering project currently under construction in Paris. With a total CO2 footprint of 65 tons, this means a reduction of 800 tons compared to the CO2 footprint of standard aluminium produced in Euro