June 2024 | Aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro has decided to invest USD 85 million in a new casting line. It aims to strengthen its aluminium recycling plant in Henderson, Kentucky. The new line will become operational in 2026 and supply the U.S. automotive market with high-quality automotive components.
Hydro’s President and CEO, Eivind Kallevik, announced the investment decision at a meeting with the Governor of Kentucky. The investment is backed by tax incentives from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) and will provide 31 new jobs in the city of Henderson. The new casting line will increase capacity by 28 000 tonnes (62 million pounds) of aluminium and strengthen Hydro Henderson’s position as a leading producer of low-carbon aluminium for the North American automotive industry.
“This investment is another step along Hydro’s journey to change the game in aluminium production. Recycling more end-of-life scrap reduces emissions, strengthens security of supply and enables us to deliver new, cutting-edge products to our U.S. customers,” says Kallevik.
Hydro previously announced a USD 15 million investment in a new baghouse and homogenization equipment at the Hydro Henderson recycling plant. These projects are now nearing completion. They will enable Hydro Henderson to produce larger volumes of advanced alloys using recycled, post-consumer scrap with a lower-carbon footprint.
The new project introducing HyForge technology at Hydro Henderson follows in the footsteps of the successful implementation of the HyForge casting technology at the Hydro Husnes primary plant in Norway and the Hydro Rackwitz recycling plant in Germany.
“Hydro Henderson has been at the forefront of producing recycling based automotive products for nearly twenty years. We work closely with the automotive industry and introducing Hydro’s HyForge technology will provide Hydro and our partners with a greener advantage, Made in America,” says Kallevik.
Greener growth meets market demand
The new HyForge casthouse is planned to become operational in 2026. The Henderson plant shall serve the automotive market’s need. It will provide billets with smaller diameter, that can be forged directly into high-quality automotive components. This means the number of processing steps from casthouse to automotive parts are reduced. Thus, leading to cost efficiency and higher product quality compared to traditional processes. All benefits will come without compromising safety.
“Taking advantage of the new technology and expanded capacity cater to the specific needs of our customers within the automotive industry to create light weight car parts, helping reduce emissions from driving. This expansion significantly increases the use of end-of-life aluminium, cutting emissions from creating the products themselves, ensuring market leading sustainability performance for Hydro and our customers,” says Kallevik.
By using a high share of end-of-life scrap, Hydro Henderson will deliver HyForge billets with a low CO2 footprint.
“By investing in premier recycling technology and responding to the U.S. automotive industry’s demand to further decarbonize, Hydro Henderson is ready for the road ahead, fully in line with Hydro’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050,” says Kallevik.
About HyForge
HyForge is aluminium cast forge stock with a smaller diameter than traditional billets used for extrusion. It can be forged directly into high quality automotive components, like wheel suspension parts, without adding any further process steps such as extrusion or homogenization.
