Novelis Inc., a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider and the world's largest aluminum recycler and manufacturer of beverage can sheet, today announced the company's new laminated aluminum surfaces for beverage can ends that will be showcased September 27 to 29 at ALUMINIUM 2022 in Düsseldorf. This innovative application improves beverage container appearance, increases production process efficiencies and lowers CO₂ emissions for European beverage brands and can makers. As a result, it further advances Novelis' leadership in the growing market for aluminum beverage packaging.

Colored aluminum beverage can ends, especially black, are particularly popular for new and innovative beverage products and energy drinks. However, producing lacquered, black ends also poses challenges in terms of color stability and can makers' production processes.

Outstanding new surface finishing

High-quality surfaces and color stability are especially important for the premium beverage segments. Novelis' new aluminum sheet comes with a black laminating film. The laminating film is free of Bisphenol A (BPA) and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and meets all food and beverage industry requirements.

At Novelis' Göttingen site in Germany, which specializes in rolled aluminum surface finishing, the laminating film is applied by a combination of pressure and heat.

More productivity in can end production

For beverage can makers, adoption of the laminated sheet is simple, as the production of laminated ends does not require any can line retooling. In fact, it requires less cleaning, leading to increased productivity.

Lamination reduces CO₂ emissions

Novelis' product innovation supports can makers and beverage brands in reaching their sustainability goals. The lamination of aluminum coils for can ends reduces CO₂ emissions by 33%, compared to the conventional liquid coating, as the lamination process requires less heat and chemicals. Laminated ends have no adverse impact on beverage can recyclability. Similar to the conventional can coating, the laminating film is removed as an organic component in the recycling process by thermal pretreatment and waste heat is reused in the process.

"This innovation meets the food and packaging industry's requirements for high-quality, lower CO₂ footprint material," said Alexander Kuzan, Vice President of Can for Novelis Europe. "Together with our customers, we are creating better, more sustainable products and efficient manufacturing processes. Using high levels of recycled aluminum in our products helps reduce the consumption of natural resources, strengthen the circular economy and limit climate change."

Novelis annually recycles approximately 80 billion used beverage cans worldwide. In Nachterstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, Novelis operates one of the world's largest, most technologically advanced aluminum recycling centers. At the facility, up to 400,000 tons of aluminum scrap is shredded, sorted, thermally decoated, melted, cast and returned to the infinite production cycle each year.

Together, with its partners along the value chain, Novelis is developing innovative, low-carbon aluminum solutions and creating closed-loop recycling systems for production and end-of-life scrap.