Hydro and Mercedes-Benz extend partnership to secure low-carbon aluminium supply

Hydro and Mercedes-Benz have entered into an expanded, long-term procurement agreement running beyond 2030 to supply low-carbon primary and recycled aluminium alloys. The contract covers at least 10 percent of Mercedes-Benz’s total primary aluminium demand, establishing defined decarbonization milestones for structural materials utilized across its next-generation electric vehicle fleet.

Supply Chain Decarbonization in Automotive Electrification
As automotive powertrains transition to battery-electric propulsion, embedded emissions within raw materials represent an increasing share of total lifecycle vehicle impact. Aluminium provides critical lightweighting advantages for structural crash elements, body panels, and battery enclosures, yet conventional smelting processes are highly energy-intensive. To eliminate upstream scope 3 emissions without sacrificing mechanical strength, formability, or passenger crash safety, automotive original equipment manufacturers must secure certified, renewable-powered primary smelter capacity alongside closed-loop post-consumer scrap recycling streams.

Material Specifications and Smelting Technology
The supply framework incorporates Hydro’s low-carbon primary aluminium, Hydro REDUXA, and its post-consumer recycled alloy, Hydro CIRCAL. Hydro REDUXA is produced using renewable electrolytic power and advanced smelting cell efficiency to limit direct and indirect carbon generation. Under the updated contract terms, Hydro will step down the certified emissions intensity of primary aluminium delivered to Mercedes-Benz to a maximum threshold of 3.5 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of metal by 2028, progressing toward a targeted 3.0 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of aluminium by 2030.

To complement primary metal sourcing, the agreement scales the delivery of Hydro CIRCAL, an alloy containing a certified minimum of 75 percent recycled end-of-life post-consumer aluminium scrap. Hydro CIRCAL achieves an emissions cap of 1.9 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of finished metal. Mercedes-Benz will incorporate this high-scrap alloy directly into commercial series production beginning in 2027, focusing on structural platforms for its forthcoming generation of large electric vehicles.

Joint Roadmap and Production Scalability
The expanded partnership builds upon a foundational decarbonization roadmap established by both organizations in 2022. Securing multi-year demand allows Hydro to justify downstream capital allocation for smelting process optimization, advanced scrap sorting technologies, and inert-anode research. Concurrently, Mercedes-Benz establishes predictable multi-year access to high-purity recycled stock, verifying that secondary aluminium meets rigorous automotive surface quality and dynamic impact resistance standards.

Upstream Material Impact and Manufacturing Stability
Executing long-term off-take commitments for low-emission alloys accelerates the circular transition of European metal processing. Sourcing post-consumer recycled content combined with renewable-smelted primary metal prevents raw material supply bottlenecks, lowers reliance on virgin bauxite mining, and establishes a scalable industrial supply chain for near-zero-emission automotive manufacturing.

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.