Athens, Greece / London, United Kingdom – 22 September 2026 – METLEN is undertaking a new strategic investment of nearly €25 million in EP.AL.ME., part of the Metals Sector’s “Integrated Aluminium Value Chain”, with the aim of enhancing the use of recycled aluminium and further strengthening its role in the European aluminium industry. Through the installation of modern, highly automated sorting, processing and melting equipment, Greece’s largest independent producer of recycled aluminium will gain new capabilities, while creating strong synergies with the Aluminium of Greece plant.
Beyond EP.AL.ME’s significant technological upgrade, the investment forms part of METLEN’s strategy to develop an even more vertically integrated and competitive production model. The objective is to use raw materials more efficiently, generate greater added value and strengthen the Company’s international competitiveness.
This strategy translates into tangible operational benefits, as the project will enable EP.AL.ME. to handle more complex aluminium scrap streams. These include new categories of post-consumer scrap — aluminium recovered from products that have reached the end of their useful lives and which, until now, have been difficult to incorporate efficiently into production.
In this way, the strategic significance of the investment extends beyond increasing the use of recycled aluminium. METLEN will be able to move closer to the source of scrap supply, gaining access to larger volumes of less processed material and enhancing internal value creation through technology, expertise and industrial synergies.
The connection with Aluminium of Greece plays a pivotal role in this approach. EP.AL.ME. serves as a hub for the collection, sorting and pre-processing of scrap, while Aluminium of Greece provides the production scale and metallurgical flexibility required to incorporate demanding recycled-metal streams into high-value products. The two facilities -one producing primary aluminium and the other secondary aluminium- therefore operate in a complementary manner as a single integrated production system.
This operational synergy also has a significant environmental dimension. Aluminium recycling is a key driver of energy and production efficiency, as it requires approximately 5% of the energy needed to produce primary metal. Greater use of recycled aluminium helps reduce the environmental footprint, conserve natural resources and support more sustainable industrial production.
Within the same framework, the investment also has a clear European dimension, as it aligns with the European Union’s priorities for industrial resilience, strategic autonomy and the circular economy. Under the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Clean Industrial Deal, making better use of aluminium scrap helps retain raw materials and added value within Europe.
Overall, once fully developed, the project is expected to increase total production to more than 250,000 tonnes and improve profit margins at both plants, demonstrating that the use of recycled aluminium can deliver environmental, industrial and economic benefits simultaneously.
