Aluminium Dunkerque has commissioned a new melting furnace dedicated to aluminium recycling at its French facility. Known as Furnace 8, the installation will enable the company to recycle 7,000 tonnes of aluminium waste annually and produce an additional 20,000 tonnes of low-carbon aluminium each year. This development is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions per tonne of ingots by 10%, avoiding 25,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and saving 96 GWh of electricity annually. The project has also resulted in the creation of eight new jobs.
Furnace 8 is equipped with advanced oxy-fuel burners using natural gas and oxygen, which help lower emissions during the melting process. The system also features an internal industrial water recycling setup, minimizing water consumption. With a production rate of 10 tonnes per hour, the furnace is designed to support the automotive sector’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions throughout the supply chain.
The new furnace is part of a broader strategy to increase domestic processing of aluminium scrap in France, which currently exports nearly 500,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap each year. By processing scrap on-site, Aluminium Dunkerque aims to strengthen France’s control over critical metals and contribute to national decarbonisation goals.
Aluminium Dunkerque, the last major primary aluminium plant established in France, produces 300,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, supplying alloys for the automotive, defense, transport, and packaging industries.
