Raffmetal and Cromodora Wheels, European leaders respectively in the production of aluminium alloys from recycling and the production of first equipment aluminium wheels for major car makers, have signed an agreement to develop, test and patent an innovative high-performance primary alloy from recycling.

By maximizing the recycled content within the alloy, the aluminium wheels produced by Cromodora will be made of a primary alloy from recycling that will allow a 95% reduction in energy consumption and a significant decrease in CO2 emissions by more than 89%.


The raffmetal-cromodora wheels partnership

The project aims to offer the market a range of alloy wheels that responds to the growing demands of automotive manufacturers to reduce emissions during production, encouraging the use of material from recycling and maintaining the performance requirements.

The synergy between Raffmetal and Cromodora Wheels will lead to offering the market sustainable products, with a low carbon footprint, circular and with total control of the entire supply chain: from scrap to finished product.

The alloy, which will be developed by the R&D departments, has the ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions compared to the use of primary aluminium from mining by more than 89%, thanks to the maximisation of the recycling content, which will reach a percentage close to 80%, preferring post- consumer material.

The alloys will be produced in the Special Alloys plant in Vobarno and will be destined for the Cromodora Wheels plants.

"Our strategy has always been to anticipate the times with a view to sustainable development, and this partnership represents a fundamental step in the direction of sustainability and the circular economy as a lever of shared values between two important industrial realities in Brescia, recognized as leaders at international level" - states Orlando Niboli, Raffmetal President.

"Together we share a roadmap to ensure the maintenance of the European aluminium supply chain, today strongly affected by the shortage of raw materials and rising energy costs, while preserving the know-how of an Italian industrial sector recognized as a leader in technological innovation, quality, production excellence and environmental sustainability". - underlines Roberta Niboli, Raffmetal Commercial Manager.

"In a context characterized by the need to take urgent action to preserve the planet and combat climate change, Cromodora Wheels and Raffmetal want to be key players in this transition. This is why it is increasingly necessary to forge strategic partnerships, optimizing the sharing of know-how in research and development, in order to bring benefits along the production chains of reference" adds Giancarlo Dallera, Cromodora Wheels President.

"Thanks to this strategic collaboration we will be able to offer the market a solution of low carbon primary aluminium alloy wheels from recycling that will help car makers to reduce their carbon footprint both in production and in use," confirms Marco Dallera, Cromodora Wheels Commercial Manager.

Raffmetal innovative primary aluminium alloys from recycling

Raffmetal has a forty years of know-how in the selection and treatment of scrap that allowed to start production in 2020 in the new Special Alloys plant dedicated to the production of the innovative range of primary aluminium alloys from recycling: Silval.

These alloys have a recycling content between 80 and 100%, making it possible to achieve high- performance values in environmental terms compared to primary aluminium, such as:

  • 95% energy saving 

  • Zero soil consumption during extraction 

  • Zero waste process 

  • 74% water saving 

  • Reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by 89% and more (SILVAL 42100) 
This new range of primary alloys from recycling is of great interest to the automotive sector as major car makers need to reduce the weight of their new range of electric vehicles while reducing CO2 emissions during production phase. Materials from recycling and their supply chains are at the heart of this transformation.