Speira is to shut down smelting operations at its Rheinwerk facility in Germany this year and instead invest €30 million to transform it into a recycling plant. Despite falling natural gas and energy prices, they are still too high for many heavy industries.
“The challenging circumstances on the energy market have accelerated our transformation of Speira to a pure aluminium rolling and recycling company”
— Einar Glomnes, CEO of Speira
The remaining 70,000 tonnes of liquid production at the smelter is expected to occur throughout the second half of 2023.
Europe expects “staggering” 50% loss of primary aluminium production capacity. Supply of aluminium is shutting down across Europe, just as demand is beginning to rise. See our latest analysis: