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| ReMA |
Industry Collaboration and Demand Drive New Scrap Specification for Wrought Aluminum
At the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) 2025 Conference in San Diego, panelists spotlighted vesper, a new wrought aluminum grade developed in collaboration with Novelis Inc., designed to meet the escalating demand for scrap-fed aluminum in automotive and industrial applications.
What is Vesper?
Vesper is created by isolating sheet, extrusion, and plate-grade aluminum (wrought) from zorba or twitch streams—mixed shredded nonferrous metals. The specification, developed jointly by ReMA and Novelis, limits:
- Free magnesium and zinc to 1% each
- Analytical iron to 0.5%
- Non-metallics to 1%
The grade must also be free of oxidized materials, airbags, and sealed containers, with buyer-seller variation allowed.
A Critical Piece in a Growing Market
CRU Group’s Gabriella Vagnini noted over $10 billion in new secondary aluminum investments in North America, with recycled aluminum consumption projected to rise 40% by 2029. These figures underscore the need for cleaner, more segregated scrap streams to feed growing semifinished aluminum demand.
The Need for Segregation
According to Gary Gallo, Senior Manager at Novelis, increasing end-of-life returns from aluminum-intensive vehicles (like the Ford F-150) are introducing more wrought content into twitch. Without segregation, valuable wrought scrap risks being downgraded into cast alloys like A380, losing its utility in high-performance applications.
“We can’t get that scrap back,” Gallo said. “The silicon content goes through the roof.”
Novelis and other producers are now pushing to separate wrought from cast aluminum, a task that was not prioritized until demand for clean wrought scrap surged.
A Cross-Sector Collaboration
Neil Byce, vice chair of ReMA and owner of CW Metals, emphasized that vesper represents one of the first genuine collaborations between recyclers, producers, automakers, and equipment suppliers.
“The show floor equipment vendors were in on this spec from the beginning,” he said. “This is a specification that can actually be created.”
Ford's Closed-Loop and the Future of End-of-Life Scrap
Daniel Freiberg, research engineer at Ford Motor Co., highlighted the automaker’s closed-loop recycling system, where scrap from its stamping plants is sorted by alloy and returned to producers like Novelis or Arconic.
But Freiberg also emphasized that end-of-life aluminum, like vesper, must be integrated into Ford’s aluminum supply chain to reduce vehicle carbon footprints even further.
Gallo added that Ford's strategic closed-loop model avoided market disruptions while ensuring high-grade scrap return, yet not all scrap follows that path—some is processed by third parties and could be reclaimed through new specifications like vesper.
Sorting Challenges and Patience Ahead
Byce cautioned that sorting wrought from cast aluminum in twitch is technically challenging, and industry patience will be critical during vesper's adoption. “Not all twitch is created equal,” he noted. “This is new for everyone.”
Despite uncertainty around export controls and closed-loop systems, panelists agreed vesper offers an inclusive, scalable path forward—provided collaboration continues across the recycling ecosystem.
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