Hydro won first place in the raw materials, materials and process optimization category. Hydro board member Bell accepted the award from the chairman of the jury, Professor Ferdinand Dudenhöfer. Its Ökoglobe Institute at the University of Duisburg has been honoring major innovations for more environmentally friendly mobility every year since 2007. This time, the winners in a total of eight categories included Ford, Volvo, Renault, Toyota, BMW and Sixt, Johnson Controls, Continental and Volkswagen with DHL.

Dudenhöfer praised the enormous progress in the deep-drawing properties of the new aluminum alloy from Hydro: "This enables car manufacturers to produce much larger, more complex components from a single sheet of metal." can be optimally recycled at the end of each phase of use.

"Low-carbon economy only with industry"

Oliver Bell thanked his Hydro team for the strong development work and the jury for the recognition at the award ceremony. He emphasized: “We only shape the low-carbon economy with industry. Our new product in particular shows what industry can do and how important it is to maintain the value chains. 6-30 + was only possible due to the close association of research and development with our aluminum production, processing and finishing here in the Rhineland. "

Thanks to its outstanding recycling properties, aluminum also helps to provide sustainable mobility solutions. Even today, 95% of all aluminum vehicle components are recycled at the end of their useful life - and this with 95% energy savings compared to primary metal production. “After the first life, a new life starts. In this way, aluminum remains a permanent material and is almost a circular material in its applications, "says Bell.

Aluminum is used in more and more vehicles for fuel-saving lightweight construction. There are currently 70 million automobiles with components made of aluminum worldwide, "and every kilogram of aluminum instead of conventional materials saves up to 20 kilograms of CO2," said Bell. It was important, Bell said in the conversation, that automobile manufacturers are recognizing and using this more and more, as legislation in Berlin and Brussels has to take into account in order to effectively serve the climate with the help of innovative industry. & Nbsp;

Aluminum is gaining ever greater proportions, particularly in the material mix for body construction. The "Super-Light Car" research consortium led by Volkswagen recognized aluminum as the best material for efficient lightweight construction of the next generation; his concept won the InnoMateria Award in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2011.

The advantages of 6-30 + alloys:

• Further weight savings for the vehicle with the corresponding environmental benefits
• More options for new lightweight concepts in vehicle planning
• Fast and easy component production with less trimming scrap
• Faster and easier logistics and installation in series production
• Crack-free homogeneity of larger lightweight components
• More efficient recycling of both the pure process scrap in component production and the large components at the end of vehicle use

A patent and trademark have been applied for. Selected automotive companies have tested the aluminum sheet 6-30 + the Hydro positive. A first series order is nearing completion, qualifications for other applications are currently underway.

Aluminum rolled products help save CO2

Hydro is an essential supplier of rolled strips for the transport sector. A center inaugurated at the Grevenbroich plant in 2008 with two special production lines produces more and more rolled products, especially for external body components, the most demanding segment. Hydro was recently named supplier of the year by the automotive supplier ElringKlinger as a semi-finished product partner for heat shields.

Rolled Products, Hydro's rolling division, produces around 900,000 tons of rolled aluminum products per year with 4600 employees in seven plants. An independently assessed study on the climate effect of these products in use and subsequent recycling resulted in a total of 8.9 million tons of net savings in CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Bell: "These figures show that our aluminum is part of the solution for more environmentally friendly products, applications and ways of life."