E-Paper
Sign In
Emirates Global Aluminium acquires 80% stake in Italian firm
Europe remains one of the world’s largest recycled aluminium markets, with automotive and construction companies increasingly turning to secondary metal
- PUBLISHED: Wed 22 Apr 2026, 9:55 PM
As aluminium producers globally accelerate efforts to cut emissions and secure recycled feedstock, consolidation in Europe’s aluminium recycling market is gathering pace. Large primary producers are increasingly buying into scrap-processing businesses as demand grows for lower‑carbon metal across sectors such as automotive, construction and manufacturing.
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is the latest to move in this direction, announcing plans to acquire an 80 per cent stake in Italian aluminium recycling company Eco Green, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal reflects a broader push by global producers to expand recycling capacity closer to end markets, particularly in Europe, where demand for secondary aluminium is rising alongside tighter environmental regulation and manufacturer decarbonisation targets.
Recommended For You
Europe remains one of the world’s largest recycled aluminium markets, with automotive and construction companies increasingly turning to secondary metal to reduce embodied carbon. Recycled aluminium typically requires significantly less energy than primary production, making access to reliable scrap supplies and processing capacity a growing strategic priority for producers.
Eco Green, based in northeast Italy, operates across aluminium scrap collection, sorting, casting and dross processing, distributing more than 70,000 tonnes of material annually. Its operations include a scrap-handling facility in Villafranca di Verona and a nearby casting plant in Nogara di Verona that produces more than 20,000 tonnes of secondary aluminium sows each year. An expansion at the Nogara site is expected to add a further 15,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium capacity in the second half of 2026, underlining the steady rise in demand for secondary metal in the region.
The Italian recycler supplies more than 60 customers across Europe, largely serving aluminium processors and semi-fabricators with end markets spanning automotive, construction and other industrial uses. Its sourcing network includes over 350 scrap suppliers, giving it access to a steady stream of recyclable material in a market where competition for scrap is intensifying.
For producers like EGA, acquiring recycling businesses offers a way to diversify beyond primary metal while embedding operations further into downstream supply chains. The company already operates the UAE’s largest aluminium recycling plant at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi and has expanded into recycling through acquisitions in Germany and the United States, with capacity growth projects underway at both sites.
Once the Eco Green transaction is completed, EGA’s global recycling capacity is expected to exceed 400,000 tonnes per year across the UAE, Europe and the US, with a further 200,000 tonnes under development. The company markets its recycled aluminium under the RevivAL brand, supplying customers looking to lower the carbon footprint of finished products without compromising performance.
The latest acquisition also highlights how Europe’s aluminium recycling sector is becoming a focal point for overseas investors, as supply chain resilience, energy costs and sustainability pressures reshape the global metals industry. Eco Green, founded in 1993 and still led by the Scappini family, will continue under its existing management following completion, signalling continuity even as ownership structures evolve in response to fast-changing market dynamics.
Associate Editor Somshankar Bandyopadhyay brings more than three decades of experience to the KT newsroom. Currently, he manages the news production of the business section, ensuring that the top economic and business news of the day reaches its readers.