【SMM Aluminum Flash News】Japan's Q1 2026 EU Aluminum Scrap Imports Surge 89% Year-On-Year Despite Price Hike

Mercedes-Benz and Norsk Hydro have solidified their long-term partnership to accelerate the use of recycled aluminium across Europe. The initiative reinforces the automotive industry’s decarbonisation goals while reinforcing regional supply chains, thereby taking the EU a step closer to the Net Zero goals. As part of the expanded collaboration, Mercedes-Benz will become the first European automaker to use Hydro CIRCAL in serial production for its next generation of large electric vehicles (EV). The recycled aluminium contains at least 75 per cent post-consumer scrap, a significant increase from the previous minimum of 25 per cent. The material is produced from end-of-life vehicles, buildings and infrastructure through advanced recycling processes. Eivind Kallevik, President and CEO of Hydro, noted, the automotive industry’s requirement for “materials that can cut emissions without compromising quality, safety or performance.”

US aluminium scrap recovery continued to strengthen at the start of 2026, with recycled metal production rising by double digits year on year, while primary aluminium output remained largely unchanged, according to the latest US Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Industry Survey. A total of 318,000 metric tonnes of aluminium was recovered from scrap in January 2026, up 14 per cent from the same month last year compared to 297,000 tonnes and 3 per cent higher than the revised December 2025 figure. Of the total, 179,000 metric tonnes came from new scrap and 138,000 metric tonnes from old scrap. Meanwhile, primary aluminium production totalled 58,000 tonnes during the month. Average daily output stood at 1,860 metric tonnes, unchanged from December 2025 and 1 per cent higher than January 2025.

Aluminium is often described as one of the most recyclable industrial materials, and the UK already has much of the infrastructure needed to support a circular aluminium economy. Collection systems are well established, recycling rates are strong, and remelting capacity exists across the supply chain. According to Nadine Bloxsome, CEO of the Aluminium Federation (ALFED), the challenge is no longer whether aluminium can be recycled, but whether the UK is keeping enough of the value created from that recycled material. ALFED estimates that recycling aluminium requires up to 95 per cent less energy than producing primary metal, making it an important contributor to industrial competitiveness as well as the country's net-zero ambitions. Despite this, the UK continues to rely heavily on imported primary aluminium. Around 68,000 tonnes were imported from the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia during 2025. Recent geopolitical tensions and disruptions affecting energy-intensive smelting operations in the region have highlighted the risks that come with depending on overseas supply. The UK generates large volumes of aluminium scrap every year, yet much of the material leaves the country instead of being processed locally. Aluminium scrap exports to the United States increased from around 2,000 tonnes in 2024 to more than 23,000 tonnes in 2025, while total exports under HS Code 7602 rose from about 612,000 tonnes to more than 623,000 tonnes. During the same year, the UK also imported around 90,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap, showing that the issue is not a shortage of material but where that material is processed and where its value is ultimately created.