Priority for transformation

• Speira progresses with the redevelopment of the Rheinwerk plant in Neuss
• From primary metal to a circular economy

Three years after the decision to initially scale back primary aluminium production, the new direction is visibly taking shape. Speira, the aluminium rolling and recycling company, has implemented the announced investments in the expansion of its recycling activities and is developing the Rheinwerk in Neuss into one of Europe’s leading aluminium recycling sites.

Speira has invested around 40 million euros in a new fourth recycling furnace, which is due to come on stream this autumn. In addition, the company is investing a mid-double-digit million sum in the decommissioning and redevelopment of the site of the former aluminium smelter. The measures are being financed entirely from the company’s own funds.

From primary metal to the circular economy

With the complete phase-out of electrolysis, Speira has set the course for a fundamental transformation at the Rheinwerk site. Instead of energy-intensive primary production, the company is now consistently focusing on aluminium recycling and strengthening the circular economy.

A key component of this shift is the new fourth recycling furnace. In future, aluminium scrap will be melted down there and, following further processing, used in products such as beverage cans. With the commissioning of the furnace, Speira is further increasing its recycling capacity. Producing aluminium from recycled material requires around 95 per cent less energy than is needed to produce primary aluminium. Consequently, significant reductions in CO₂ emissions are achieved.

“Three years ago, we announced plans to transform the Rheinwerk into a European recycling hub. Today, these plans have become a reality. With the new recycling furnace, we are expanding our capacity to meet the growing demand for recycled aluminium and keeping even more of this valuable material in the cycle,” explains Boris Kurth, who is responsible for Speira’s can business and the Rheinwerk.

From deconstruction to the future

A visible sign of this transformation has already been realised in the old electrolysis halls, which are around 300 metres long: a third of the former smelting areas has been converted into a modern scrap yard. There, incoming scrap is sampled, sorted and prepared for melting down. The focus is particularly on so-called post-consumer scrap – aluminium that has completed its full life cycle and is being returned to the recycling loop. The new storage capacity ensures the supply to all recycling furnaces at the site.

In parallel with the expansion of its recycling activities, Speira is driving forward the redevelopment of the remaining former primary production areas. In the coming weeks, the company will begin dismantling further areas, investing a mid-double-digit million sum in the process. In doing so, Speira is laying the foundations for the future-oriented redevelopment of the site. New opportunities are emerging where primary aluminium was once produced.

“By decommissioning, we are taking the future of the former smelting works site into our own hands. In doing so, we are creating the conditions for new uses and strengthening the long-term development of Neuss as an industrial location,” says Volker Backs, Managing Director of Speira.

The reorientation of the Rheinwerk is taking place in close cooperation with employee representatives and with the support of the relevant authorities. Recycling has been a defining feature of the site for many years. The current investments mark an important milestone on the path towards making the Rheinwerk fully circular.