Environmental Responsibility Volkswagen Group Components Opens its Own Chip Melting Furnace at the Kassel Foundry

A new chip melting furnace was commissioned at Volkswagen Group Components. The light metal foundry project in Kassel, Germany, is intended to benefit the environment by closing an important recycling loop on site while saving energy and CO₂.

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All aluminum chips produced at the Kassel plant will in future be returned to the casting process. According to current forecasts, energy requirements will be reduced by about 3,250 MWh/a and CO₂ emissions by more than 1,400 t/a. This is achieved by means of an innovative melting process on the company's own premises. At the same time, truck traffic will be relieved, as transport by a recycling company will be eliminated.

Mirco Wöllenstein, foundry manager in Kassel, says: "For the Kassel foundry it is a courageous and at the same time pioneering decision to melt down chips on such a large scale itself. The process for this is innovative and complex, as no corrosion must be allowed to form on the chips. We work together across plants and business units to achieve maximum CO₂ savings for our environment and our company".

Furnaces at a Glance

Technologies of Melting Furnaces in Foundries

The Kassel foundry is thus making a contribution to Volkswagen Group Components and the Volkswagen Group on the way to the "goTOzero" mission statement - an environmentally friendly and CO₂-free business model that Volkswagen has set itself the goal of achieving throughout the Group by 2050.

Every day, Kassel alone produces around 20 tonnes of aluminum chips which are melted down in the plant. In the medium term, the foundry plans to melt down a further 40 tonnes of material from other European Volkswagen plants. In the long term, the volume is expected to increase to up to 80 tonnes of chips. "By eliminating an additional external remelting process, we will remain more ecological and economical than before, despite the transport routes to Kassel that will then be required", said Wöllenstein.

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