Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, has acquired German firm Leichtmetall Aluminium Giesserei Hannover GmbH, as it looks to tap into the growing demand for recycled aluminium.

The transaction has now cleared all required regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the UAE company said in a statement on Friday.

The acquisition marks an important milestone in EGA’s drive to establish an aluminium recycling business in Europe, said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA, which already sells more than 600,000 tonnes of primary aluminium to the European market every year.

The German aluminium recycling company is a subsidiary of an investment fund managed by Quantum Capital Partners GmbH.

EGA said its new German operation is a European specialty foundry that uses renewable energy to produce up to 30,000 tonnes per year of billets, with secondary aluminium as some 80% of input material.

Production at the German facility includes hard alloys and larger diameter billets up to 1,150 millimetres, with uses including manufacturing high load bearing extruded profiles and very large forged components.

Global demand for recycled aluminium is set to double by 2040, EGA noted, citing market analysts. Recycled aluminium could account for around 60% of the growth in global aluminium supply between now and 2030, and around 70% of supply growth between 2030 and 2040.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com