Hydro, University of Michigan partner to advance aluminum recycling

Norway-based aluminum producer Norsk Hydro ASA has launched its first U.S. university research partnership with the University of Michigan, committing $2.5 million over five years to advance aluminum recycling and extrusion alloy development.

The collaboration establishes the Center for Recycling, Extrusion and Aluminum Technology (CREATe) partnership and aims to strengthen the U.S. supply chain through innovation.

The initiative will focus on developing alloys that retain strength and performance across multiple recycling cycles, addressing key challenges such as iron-based impurities. Three research teams will explore innovative approaches including electric current assisted intermetallic refinement, composition enhanced solidification and computational alloy design.

“Hydro was founded 120 years ago at the intersection of a commercial visionary and a brilliant researcher,” Hydro President and CEO Eivind Kallevik says. “That spirit still defines us. Industrial progress happens when industry and science work together to solve problems and develop new solutions. I look forward to following this collaboration between Hydro and the University of Michigan, and to seeing it drive new advances in aluminum recycling and alloy innovation.”

RELATED: Hydro profits are slimmer in Q3

“This partnership brings together top minds in materials science and manufacturing to expand what’s possible in recycling aluminum, a metal that packs incredible strength into a lightweight form and has become one of the world’s most widely used engineering materials,” says Karen A. Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic dean of engineering at the University of Michigan. “Both Michigan Engineering and Hydro see tremendous potential in this research and this region to shape a more resilient future together.”

Hydro says its research partnership with the University of Michigan builds on the company’s expanding U.S. footprint and commitment to innovation. 

Over the past five years, Hydro has invested more than $1 billion to strengthen domestic manufacturing in the U.S., including a new recycling plant and R&D center in Cassopolis, Michigan, and an advanced extrusion press with strengthened recycling capacity in Cressona, Pennsylvania.