Hydro will invest NOK 500 million ($50.6 million) in its extrusion plant in Cressona, Pennsylvania. The investment will expand the site’s recycling capabilities, which include remelt and extrusion billet casting, producing low-carbon aluminium products.

The project is expected to be fully operational in late 2024 and will expand Cressona’s casting capacity by more than 50,000 tonnes (114 million lbs.). The 3,900 m2 (42,000 ft2) installation will include a new state-of-the-art 45 ton (100,000 lb.) melting furnace as well as advanced scrap segregation and processing equipment to meet the billet demands of Cressona’s two new high-performance presses.

The investment will allow for a significant increase in use of pre- and post-consumer aluminium scrap and will support the plant in achieving a five percent reduction in the average carbon footprint of its extrusion billet, contributing to Hydro’s overall sustainability ambitions.

“The ability to cast our own extrusion billet is extremely important. This investment will strengthen our ability to produce innovative alloys and offer our customers products with a high recycled content and lower carbon footprint. We anticipate strong demand for these locally supplied greener products in the future and are excited to help drive the circular economy in North America,” says Paul Warton, Executive Vice President for Hydro Extrusions.

The investment in the Cressona extrusion plant follows a recent NOK 270 million ($27 million) investment in Hydro Extrusion’s recycling facility in The Dalles, Oregon and the start of construction of Hydro Aluminum Metal’s NOK 1.4 billion ($140 million) greenfield recycling plant in Cassopolis, Michigan.