Hydro has partnered with the Parsons Healthy Materials Lab to research and promote the use of low-carbon and recycled aluminium in the building sector. The collaboration aims to provide architects and designers with the data needed to move away from carbon-intensive primary aluminium produced with coal.
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Recycled aluminium is a win, but the real bottleneck is usually the cost of sorting and the quality of the scrap stream. I would like to see the actual data on how these low-carbon specs affect the final project budget.
Budget is one thing, but the reporting standards are where this gets messy. If they cannot prove the carbon delta between primary and recycled material through a verified standard, the architects cannot claim the credits.
The article mentions renewable energy decreasing the footprint. That depends entirely on where the smelters are located and the local grid mix. Which regions are they targeting for this shift?
Hydro is pushing the circularity angle here. It is a smart move to target the design phase, as that is where the material lock-in happens for the next 50 years of a building life.
