Emirates Global Aluminium announced last week that German automaker BMW Group has become its first buyer for its low-carbon aluminium CelestiAL-R.

BMW plans to use the solar-powered recycled aluminium product to produce electric drivetrain housings, engine components, and large-scale structural parts.

CelestiAL-R is a blend of recycled aluminium and aluminium produced using solar power. By combining these two types of aluminium, EGA has reduced the carbon emissions for producing the metal to below four metric tons of CO2 equivalent per metric ton of aluminium.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said in a press release that the deal is part of a long-term association with the German automaker.

“BMW Group has been a key customer of EGA for a decade. BMW Group’s demand for the highest quality metal produced in the most responsible way has accelerated our progress in sustainability – first to CelestiAL solar aluminium and now to CelestiAL-R. Our goal is to steadily increase the proportion of recycled metal in CelestiAL-R, to further reduce the carbon intensity of our metal and thereby the cars we drive.”

EGA runs CelestiAL-R through around 230 different tests each month to assure its chemical, structural, and mechanical properties. Scrap for the aluminium product is post-consumer and pre-consumer industrial scrap and includes engine blocks, wheels, wire rods, and construction profiles. The scrap used in CelestiAL-R undergoes almost four dozen separate tests before it is melted down for use.

As a result of the extensive testing CelestiAL-R goes through before delivery, it takes longer for EGA’s casthouses to produce than any other product.

After passing quality tests, the CelestiAL-R aluminium is sent to BMW Group Plant Landshut for use in its automobiles.