TRILUX GmbH & Co KG

10/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/12/2026 09:30

Build Back Better Awards 2026

Insights

Build Back Better Awards 2026

Double Award Winner: "Louvres in the Loop" Wins Platinum and Green

12.10.2026

Arnsberg/Meinerzhagen, October 2026 - The joint recycling project of lighting company TRILUX and metal processing specialist OTTO FUCHS has won two awards at the Build Back Better Awards 2026 in London: Platinum and Green. The jury recognized an innovative process that processes aluminium from old luminaire louvres into new luminaire profiles without remelting. The award ceremony took place on 8 October 2026 as part of the "Circular Lighting Live 2026" conference at the Minster Building in London.

The Build Back Better Awards evaluate products, projects, and initiatives from the built environment based on four criteria: innovation, creativity, social benefit, and environmental responsibility. A jury of 24 experts decides on the award for the best submission in the lighting category. The Platinum rating is reserved for exceptional and pioneering submissions, while the Green rating honors solutions with leading sustainability characteristics. TRILUX and OTTO FUCHS entered the "Louvres in the Loop" project in the "Lighting" category.

Collecting the award at Circular Lighting Live in London: Jennifer Campbell (Group Sustainability Manager at TRILUX)1, pictured here with Nigel Harvey (Chief Executive at Recolight)

The Project: Louvres in the Loop

Since January 2024, TRILUX and OTTO FUCHS have been working together on the research project "Louvres in the Loop." The focus is on the recycling and recovery of aluminium. This comes from old specular louvres and reflectors (post-consumer material) as well as from chips generated during operations at OTTO FUCHS (pre-consumer material). In this innovative process, the aluminium scrap is recycled without the material having to be melted down. Within the scope of the research project, a carbon footprint of less than 0.2 kg CO₂e per kilogram of aluminium was determined for the production of the aluminium briquette (screening LCA based on ISO 14040/14044, cradle-to-gate). For comparison: the informal limit for so-called "low carbon" aluminium ingots is 4 kg CO₂e per kg, and some manufacturers already achieve 0.9 kg CO₂e per kg (internal research, as of 10/2026). On a global average, primary aluminium accounts for 14.4 kg CO₂e per kg (year 2024), and aluminium produced in Europe accounts for 6.6 kg CO₂e per kg (year 2023).

"The jury evaluated exactly what we aimed for in the project: keeping material in the cycle for as long as possible - and to do so by rethinking not only the material but also the process. Receiving Platinum and Green acknowledges both the technical innovation and the project's approach to resource conservation," explains Sebastian Wurth, Product & Technology Development Engineer at OTTO FUCHS.

Aesthetic statement: Extrusion and subsequent anodizing give the RCY luminaire profile its characteristically finely structured surface - shown here in silver, gold, and black.

Luminaire prototype from the research project. Variations are available as customized solutions.

Outlook

With the completion of the research project, both partners have created the conditions for an innovative product. In the first step, TRILUX is producing a luminaire profile made of recycled aluminium for customized luminaires. The RCY variants will be available in silver, gold, and black.

"With a luminaire profile from our newly developed aluminium recycling process, we are setting important impulses for a conscious use of materials and taking a first step towards a circular economy," says Sebastian Knoche, Lead Researcher at TRILUX. The market response has been positive. Initial pilot projects with customers have already started. For more information visit www.trilux.com/litl

Editors
Yannik Bös
Corporate Communication
TRILUX
Categories
Sustainability
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TRILUX GmbH & Co KG published this content on October 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 12, 2026 at 15:31 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]