Mercedes-Benz will introduce Hydro CIRCAL into series production for its next generation of large electric vehicles. The recycled aluminium contains at least 75% post-consumer scrap, up from around 25% in the material Hydro currently supplies to the carmaker.

Mercedes-Benz is the first automotive manufacturer in Europe to adopt Hydro CIRCAL in series production. The decision gives post-consumer aluminium a recurring application in vehicles that must meet demanding requirements for safety, mechanical performance and surface quality.

Mercedes can specify recycled content, carbon footprint and traceability alongside alloy composition and component performance. Hydro must deliver those characteristics consistently across production batches and at the volumes required by an automotive programme.

Low-carbon procurement now forms part of industrial supplier qualification. Collecting, sorting and remelting end-of-life aluminium near European manufacturing sites shortens the physical supply route.

From end-of-life aluminium to an automotive alloy

Post-consumer scrap comes from products that have completed their useful life. Its composition is less predictable than process scrap generated inside a factory. Different aluminium alloy families contain different amounts of magnesium, silicon or copper. Alloy-sensitive sorting and blending keep the remelt within the chemical range required for the final component.

Hydro uses alloy-sensitive sorting and process control to recover more metal for demanding applications. Its HySort technology applies laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to identify the elemental composition of scrap pieces before remelting. The sorted material can then be blended with other scrap grades, primary aluminium or alloying elements to reach the target chemistry.

This control determines whether post-consumer material can move into structural and safety-related components. Hydro has extended CIRCAL beyond extrusion ingot into foundry alloys for wheels, battery boxes, structural castings and engine components. In April 2026, the company also supplied 31 CIRCAL extrusions for the Mercedes-Benz reECONIC truck project, including structural and safety-critical applications. The new agreement moves the material into series production for passenger vehicles.

Hydro states that recycling aluminium uses about 5% of the energy required to produce primary metal through electrolysis. Hydro publishes a footprint of 1.9 kg CO2e per kg for European CIRCAL extrusion ingot, with the exact figure depending on product and market. The 27 July announcement identifies the minimum 75% post-consumer content as the product parameter for the Mercedes supply.

Carbon data enters the procurement specification

An automotive buyer needs evidence that the delivered material matches the purchasing specification. For Hydro CIRCAL, the minimum 75% post-consumer content is tracked by production batch and independently verified by DNV. Hydro also provides product carbon-footprint documentation and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the products covered by those declarations.

These records allow procurement teams to compare suppliers using a defined emissions boundary rather than a general low-carbon claim. The contract can identify the minimum post-consumer share, the applicable carbon-footprint methodology and the evidence delivered with each batch. The purchasing team can then connect the material data to vehicle-level Scope 3 reporting and supplier-performance reviews.

Mercedes and Hydro have been developing this approach since their 2022 agreement on a low-carbon technology roadmap for 2023-2030. The partnership already covers Hydro REDUXA primary aluminium produced with renewable electricity. CIRCAL adds a secondary route based on end-of-life metal. The two products address different supply constraints: REDUXA reduces emissions from primary production, while CIRCAL reduces the quantity of new primary metal required.

Total aluminium demand requires supply from two different routes: primary low-carbon aluminium, depending on access to competitively priced renewable power and smelting capacity and recycled aluminium, which depends on the availability and quality of scrap, sorting technology and remelting capacity.

European scrap becomes automotive feedstock

Europe's transport sector consumes around 2 million tonnes of aluminium per year and represents more than 40% of EU aluminium demand. The Mercedes series-production commitment creates demand for scrap that can be recovered and qualified for automotive use.

Europe also exports a large part of this secondary resource. The European Commission estimated that aluminium scrap exports exceeded 1.3 million tonnes in 2024. Higher prices offered by buyers outside the EU can pull material away from European remelters, while poor separation reduces the share that can return to high-specification products.

The Commission opened a targeted consultation in December 2025 on measures intended to retain more aluminium scrap in Europe. The consultation closed on 31 January 2026, and the Commission is preparing the resulting trade instrument. The policy objective is to give European recyclers greater access to feedstock while stimulating domestic demand for higher-quality recycled metal.

Regulation (EU) 2026/1738, published in July 2026, authorises the Commission to establish a future minimum share of recycled aluminium in vehicle types after completing a technical, environmental and economic assessment. The regulation specifically links recycled aluminium to lower vehicle-production emissions, reduced energy use and lower dependence on primary raw materials.

Demand from carmakers supports investment in more advanced sorting and remelting. The Mercedes-Hydro agreement supplies that demand signal. Series-production qualification gives recyclers a customer for higher-value post-consumer grades, subject to automotive pricing and volume requirements.

What low-carbon procurement now requires

Procurement teams need a precise definition of low-carbon aluminium in the contract. Recycled content and product carbon footprint measure different characteristics: a product can contain a high recycled share while its remelting footprint depends on the energy used. On the other side, primary aluminium can have a low footprint when smelted with renewable electricity.

The purchasing specification should connect the recycled-content threshold to batch evidence and a defined carbon-footprint methodology. Automotive qualification should identify the alloy and component applications covered by the approval. Volume commitments should reflect the scrap and remelting capacity available in the supplying region.