This analysis evaluates aluminium recycling's sustainability and profitability in retired aircraft, indicating significant emissions savings and revenue potential.
Key Points
Approximately 24.7 tonnes of aluminium can be recovered per aircraft, leading to emissions savings of over 338,000 kg of CO2e.
The break-even scrap price for recovering aluminium from planes is over USD 4200 per tonne, highlighting economic challenges.
Integrating additional revenue streams like component resale can yield a net profit of over USD 59,000 per aircraft.
Barriers exist, but aluminium recovery presents a strategic opportunity to align aviation with decarbonisation and circular economy goals.