30.05.2023
Since almost two-thirds of the aluminum used at BMW's Landshut light metal foundry comes from the recycling loop and more than one-third of the new aluminum is produced with solar power, the foundry was again certified according to ASI standards.
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) is an international non-profit organization supported by environmental and industry associations, aluminum producers and processing companies. The ASI has defined sustainability criteria for an ecologically and socially responsible aluminum value chain.
During casting in Landshut - thanks to the use of inorganic sand cores – virtually no emissions are released. Since 2021, the light metal foundry has been sourcing aluminum for the production of which electricity from solar energy is used. At several tens of thousands of tons, the solar-generated aluminum covers more than a third of the light metal foundry's annual requirements at the Landshut plant.
Around two-thirds of the aluminum used in Landshut comes from a recycling loop, of which in turn almost two-thirds comes from a foundry's own closed loop. In this way, the BMW Group deliberately reduces the use of CO2-intensive primary aluminum in favor of a CO2-optimized recycling loop. Green electricity is also used in production. In addition, residual materials are collected by type at all casting and machining plants so that the materials with their individual compositions do not mix. This means that the aluminum waste can be reused after processing for the production of the same components.