Novelis develops new laminated aluminium surfaces for beverage can ends

Novelis has announced the company’s new laminated aluminium surfaces for beverage can ends that will be showcased September 27 to 29 at ALUMINIUM 2022 in Düsseldorf.

The application improves beverage container appearance, said the sustainable aluminium solutions provider and the world’s largest aluminium recycler and manufacturer of beverage can sheet.

Novelis said the surfaces increase production process efficiencies and lowers CO₂ emissions for European beverage brands and can makers.

Coloured aluminium 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 colour stability and can makers’ production processes.

High-quality surfaces and colour stability are especially important for the premium beverage segments. Novelis’ new aluminium 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, Germany, site, which specialises in rolled aluminium surface finishing, the laminating film is applied by a combination of pressure and heat.

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.

Novelis’ product innovation supports can makers and beverage brands in reaching their sustainability goals. The lamination of aluminium 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 aluminium 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 aluminium recycling centers. At the facility, up to 400,000 tons of aluminium scrap is shredded, sorted, thermally decoated, melted, cast and returned to the infinite production cycle each year.

Learn more about laminated aluminium for can ends: https://www.novelis.com/can-innovations/

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