14.11.2022

Nikita Taganovich was elected the new Head of the Aluminium Association’s Recycling Sector. Voting took place in absentee format by sending out a questionnaire to the member companies of the Association.

The sector has important goals: consolidating the industry, developing high-tech aluminium processing facilities, recycling, utilising and reusing aluminium alloys to make new products, promoting the development of production capacity and expanding exports of aluminium products. One of the most important tasks of the sector is to introduce sustainability principles into the activities of Aluminium Association’s member companies and to improve regulatory documents.

Investments in the scrap metal collection, sorting and recycling industry continue to grow every year. Leading companies, known primarily as producers of primary aluminium, are also developing in this area. Thanks to this they can reduce the carbon footprint of their own products, as well as meet increasingly stringent customer requirements for recycled metal content in their products. Demand for recycled aluminium will grow at a faster rate in the next ten years: its share in total demand will change from 28% in 2021 to 37% by 2031.

The global companies are making strict commitments to the proportion of recycled resources in the materials they use in their production. Therefore, aluminium, being one of the most recyclable materials available, fully meets these needs. The global recycling rate for aluminium is now over 76%. It is one of the greenest materials, without which a circular economy cannot be developed. The main segments responsible for more than 50% of aluminium demand growth over the next ten years will include renewable energy, electric vehicles, aluminium cans and infrastructure.

According to Nikita Taganovich, the main factor limiting the development of the industry in Russia is the rate of scrap metal collection. In 2022, external factors will cause it to fall to around 40% of the predicted scrap generation level. The expert considers the development of environmental certification in construction and production of goods, the development of consumption of products with a low carbon footprint and limitation of the use of non-recyclable materials a significant challenge for the industry. Increased investment in the industry and the introduction of advanced technology for sorting scrap and quality control in secondary alloy production are high on the list of priorities.

In order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to increase the transparency and responsibility of market players, ensure that the industry is more attractive for investment, strengthen cooperation with the scrap market and interact with the major players and industry associations. The introduction of measures to encourage the consumption of low-carbon products should also be a significant help: green procurement, national verification of the carbon footprint, international recognition and standards for using recyclable products.

NIKITA ANDREEVICH TAGANOVICH
Head of Recycling Section at JSC UC Rusal TD
Born in 1984 in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic.
He started his career in 2008 at the Kosogorsk Iron and Steel Works (KMZ) as a blast furnace operator.
He has worked for PJSC Mechel and JSC ArcelorMittal Temirtau (Kazakhstan), where he represented the company at meetings and sector conferences in the Eurasian Commission.
Since May 2022, he has headed the Recycling Sector at JSC UC Rusal TD.
He has co-authored a number of research papers.