Award for Production-Ready Aluminium Alloy Made with 100% Recycled End-of-Life Automotive Scrap 

Novelis, a leading sustainable aluminium solutions provider and the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, has been honoured with the 2025 German Ecodesign Award in the category “Product” today. The award recognizes a prototype aluminium sheet made with 100% end-of-life vehicle scrap, specifically developed for use in exterior car body applications.

Innovation Across the Entire Value Chain

The award-winning product is the result of continuous research and development in close collaboration with partners across the entire automotive value chain. Today’s commercially available alloy Novelis Advanz™ 6F – e170RC for exterior applications contains at least 75% recycled content, sourced from a mix of pre-consumer vehicle manufacturing scrap and post-consumer aluminium from various end-of-life products. The awarded prototype is a breakthrough: Novelis achieved 100% recycled content by solely using end-of-life automotive material as a single source of scrap. This achievement proves that true car-to-car aluminium recycling is technically and economically feasible.

“This award is a recognition of the vision and dedication of our team that made this innovation possible,” said Michael Hahne, VP Commercial, Novelis Europe. “We thank the jury of the German Ecodesign Award for this honour which will further motivate us to deliver more sustainable solutions to the market and strengthen collaboration across the recycling ecosystem.”

Established Recycling Loops and High Material Efficiency

Novelis has strategically established and invested in closed loop recycling systems to bring automotive production scrap back into its products and prevent down-cycling. As part of its ambitious Novelis 3×30 sustainability strategy, the company is actively promoting a fully circular economy to establish product-to-product circularity for aluminium. To this end, Novelis is also continuously increasing the share of end-of-life materials by creating new, innovative material flows and fostering transparent collaboration across the recycling ecosystem. This collective approach is essential to secure scalable access to high-quality end-of-life automotive scrap.

Significant CO₂ Savings Through Aluminium Recycling

Aluminium recycling reduces energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 95% compared to primary aluminium production. The introduction of highly recycled aluminium alloys therefore has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the automotive industry and supports aspects of the EU’s critical raw material act.

The German Ecodesign Award is Germany’s highest state award for ecological design according to its organisers. It has been presented since 2012 by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency in cooperation with the International Design Center Berlin (IDZ). It honours pioneering products, services, and concepts that combine design and environmental responsibility in an innovative way.

The official award ceremony took place on December 1, 2025, in Berlin.