USA – American industrial aluminum company, Novelis has signed a deal to supply aluminum sheets to Ball Corporation’s can manufacturing facilities across North America.
With this contract and other commitments, Novelis says it has secured all beverage can capacity from its new plant in Bay Minette, Alabama, underscoring the demand for the company’s high-recycled-content beverage can sheet.
The new plant, expected to begin commissioning in 2025, will have an initial capacity of approximately 661,387 tonnes of finished goods primarily for the North American beverage can and automotive markets.
“Securing contracts for beverage can production capacity at Bay Minette two years before the plant is expected to be completed demonstrates our customers’ confidence in our ability to plan, construct and operate our new plant in Alabama,” said Novelis President and CEO Steve Fisher.
“We’re proud to continue our partnership with Ball in such a meaningful way and look forward to bringing our new plant online in the next couple of years.”
According to Novelis, the contract advances both companies’ sustainability commitments by including closed-loop recycling and joint efforts to improve beverage can recycling.
Through closed-loop recycling programs, Novelis directly takes back the manufacturing scrap generated during the can-making process and recycles it into new can sheet, which is made into new beverage cans.
Novelis says it recycles more than 82 billion used beverage cans per year into new aluminum for beverage packaging.
The company claims these efforts result in lower-carbon products, as recycling aluminum requires only 5 percent of the energy used to make primary aluminum, resulting in 95 percent less carbon emissions.
Ron Lewis, Ball senior vice president and chief operating officer of global beverage packaging added: “Novelis is a critical partner in helping Ball reach our carbon footprint reduction goals and achieving full circularity for aluminum beverage packaging.
“Our longstanding relationship with Novelis continues to generate significant benefits for our companies, our customers and the long-term health of our planet.”
The new contract is an extension of a multidecade partnership between Novelis and Ball, which Novelis says stems from a mutual focus on sustainability and innovation.
The Ball Aluminum Cup, which is made exclusively from Novelis-supplied aluminum, is now composed of 90 percent recycled content.
This evolution builds on the Ball Aluminum Cup’s “infinite recyclability” by lowering its carbon footprint and further positioning the product as a sustainable solution for packaging waste challenges, Novelis says.
Novelis expects global demand for aluminum beverage can sheet to grow at a 3 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2022 to 2031.
The demand growth is driven by consumer preference for more sustainable products and size variety, the company says, as well as more beverage types being packaged in cans.
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