Durable aluminum for construction

Our climate is a ticking time bomb. The European Commission therefore requires CO2 emissions to be more than 50% lower by 2030 than they were in 1991. E-MAX is already complying with this. 

Robert Zegveld: "We generate our own energy through solar panels and a windmill, minimize our water consumption and work with reusable packaging. We have also developed a circular production method for recycling used aluminum. X-ECO, the circular aluminum we make with this, contains 90% of used aluminum and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%. So that is already well beyond the 2030 requirement." The sales director is clearly proud of this: "By comparison, classic aluminum is made by mining bauxite and smelting it into aluminum. Its emissions are more than 10 tons of CO2 per ton of aluminum. During the production of one ton of X-ECO, we emit less than 2 tons of CO2. (see visual) That's the lowest emissions worldwide."

Durable high-quality aluminum 

Recycled aluminum is sometimes said to be of inferior quality. "That is absolutely not true of X-ECO." says Zegveld, "Aluminum is born for recycling. The way we recycle used aluminum guarantees a quality equivalent to that of classic aluminum. Hence the name X-ECO, a corruption of ex aequo, Latin for equivalent." 

Proof E-MAX can do just that. For more than eight years, the company has been working with scientists at the Free University of Brussels to make circular aluminum whose properties such as corrosion resistance and surface quality are at least equal to those of classic aluminum. "Studies prove that we have now fully succeeded in doing so," says E-MAX.

Construction benefits

But this is not where E-MAX is leaving it. The company continues to invest in sustainability. It is investigating ways to get rid of gas. For example, by building a hydrogen pipeline together with other companies. The requirement to be completely CO2-neutral by 2050 then suddenly no longer seems utopian. Zegveld: "The construction sector is facing increasingly stringent environmental requirements. For applications such as window and door frames, curtain walls, balconies and fastening structures for facade cladding, X-ECO's high-quality and durable aluminum profiles are therefore a sought-after solution. Especially since the price is also in line with the market."