We will provide a new recycling route for aluminum to generate hydrogen fuel and other valuable by-products. This project will use existing methods confirmed to generate hydrogen gas on a lab-scale from the reaction of high pH water with waste aluminum metal (Al). There has been little interest in using recycled Al (cans and other materials) in this process, as the by-products generated have been viewed as waste instead of a source of recyclable material. Recycling of Al is hugely energy inefficient process (smelting requiring >1250°C) that requires electricity and fossil fuels, producing a significant carbon footprint for a process that is ‘deemed’ environmentally helpful. Here, hydrogen gas will be produced as a new fuel source. The plastic coatings (polyethylene terephthalate; PET) in cans can be isolated and upcycled into raw materials for 3D-printer filament or single use plastic bottles. The Al oxide by-products will be converted to value-add hydrogen storage porous material and/or looped back into aluminum production. The goal for this 2Y project is to validate the decarbonization of the Al lifecycle using hydrogen gas via a carbon-free route, while using byproducts as a source of value-added materials. Fully funded by NBIF/ACOA/UNB, this project will employ a postdoctoral researcher for 2Y, a MSc student for 1Y, and one summer student. It will also facilitate essential equipment purchase required to drive this initiative. This submission will give us the equipment and workforce to continue the NBIF seed-funded work that we began in early 2023 (CF-0000000104). See letters of support.