ORNL develops RidgeAlloy to recycle automotive aluminum

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has announced the development and full-scale part demonstration of RidgeAlloy, a new structural aluminum alloy made from remelted post-consumer automotive body sheet scrap.

• Main announcement: ORNL developed RidgeAlloy and advanced from concept to a successful full-scale part demonstration in 15 months; recycled aluminum ingots supplied by PSW Group’s Trialco Aluminum were cast into automotive parts using high-pressure die-casting at Falcon Lakeside Manufacturing to validate structural performance (strength, ductility, crashworthiness).
• Background and details: The alloy is produced from remelted mixed auto body sheet scrap (contains Al, Mg, Si, Fe, Mn); North America could see up to 350,000 tons annually of such sheet scrap by the early 2030s, remelting is estimated to yield up to 95% reduction in processing energy versus primary aluminum, and RidgeAlloy could enable recycled structural castings equal to at least half of U.S. annual primary aluminum production by the early 2030s.