Accelerating their commitment to sustainable development, WICONA part of Hydro, has become the first aluminium building system companies to manufacture door, window and curtain walling profiles from 100% recycled aluminium - Hydro CIRCAL 100R. The new recycled material is produced from 100% post-consumer aluminium. This means it is possible to specify profiles with a near-zero carbon footprint (0.5kg of CO2e/kg of aluminium on average) - the lowest in the world.
Exclusive to WICONA, Hydro CIRCAL 100R exemplifies the brands’ innovative spirit and commitment to anticipating specifier needs - going beyond regulations and playing a leading role in the decarbonisation of tomorrow’s buildings.
Strong support for WICONA from owner Hydro
The Norwegian aluminium group Hydro is currently the only producer in the world that able to supply this recycled aluminium with a near-zero carbon footprint.
The group has established its own recycling channel. Its Dormagen plant in Germany harvests aluminium from windows and façades during the deconstruction of end-of-life buildings. This is crushed and separated from any foreign and non-metallic materials, before the aluminium is shredded into small segments. These ‘aluminium chips’ are then sent to Hydro’s plant in Clervaux, Luxembourg where they are manufactured into low-carbon billets – Hydro CIRCAL 100R and 75R.
New technology allows the right alloy to be identified precisely, which supports the production of this construction-quality 100% recycled aluminium, avoiding the addition of any primary aluminium.
This innovative step forward, and the key to its success, has been developed using the knowledge gained from the production of Hydro CIRCAL 75R - an aluminium that contains a minimum of 75% recycled post-consumer scrap, available since 2019.
The French extrusion plant in Toulouse and the WICONA extrusion plant in Bellenberg, Germany are in the process of delivering their first projects in Paris, France and Germany respectively. For these two projects, a total of 130 tons of Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminium profiles has been manufactured. Providing a combined carbon footprint of 65 tons, this is a reduction of 800 tons compared to the carbon footprint of standard aluminium produced in Europe.
Find out more about our sustainability approach
About WICONA
A German brand founded in Ulm in 1948, WICONA has become a global benchmark for technologically advanced aluminium solutions for curtain walls, solar protection, doors and windows, including bullet‐ and fireproof systems. It has introduced to the market the most advanced innovations that have been progressively adopted by all manufacturers, including the thermal breaks for aluminium frames.
WICONA continues to demonstrate its focus on efficiency and sustainability by using thermal insulation strips made from recycled polyamide, which helps to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. With sustainability being one of the brand’s key objectives, WICONA controls all the production phases to guarantee the optimal performance of its systems and, together with designers and façade developers, creates customised solutions constantly pushing the boundaries of energy efficient and sustainable buildings. WICONA belongs to the Norwegian company Hydro, a fully integrated aluminium company with 35,000 employees in 40 countries on all continents, combining local expertise, worldwide reach and unmatched capabilities in R&D.
