Novelis, DRT sign join development agreement for unialloy can ends

Atlanta-based aluminum rolling and recycling company Novelis Inc. has entered into a joint development agreement with DRT Holdings LLC, Dayton, Ohio, intended to accelerate the adoption of high-recycled-content alloys in aluminum beverage can ends by creating a single alloy end that can be adopted across the global aluminum beverage can market.

Typically, the body of an aluminum can is made from the 3004 aluminum alloy, which offers strength and formability, while the ends are made of 5182, a higher-strength alloy with good corrosion resistance.

Novelis averages approximately 85 percent recycled content in its beverage packaging globally, while DRT is a leading provider of high-speed manufacturing equipment for beverage can ends, capable of producing up to 3,000 ends per minute.

By linking their technical expertise, Novelis says it will work with DRT to optimize the design, conversion process and sustainability attributes of beverage can ends made from the same alloy as the can body. This "unialloy" design solution enables beverage can ends to be made from up to 99 percent recycled content, reducing their carbon footprint by more than half.

"Novelis is committed to accelerating the transition to a more circular aluminum beverage packaging industry, and this partnership with DRT is a key step in that journey," says Greg Schlicht, senior vice president and chief commercial officer at Novelis. "By working with an industry leader in can end manufacturing, we believe we can ensure that beverage brands and can makers have solutions to accelerate unialloy adoption without compromising quality."

"DRT has a long-standing legacy of innovation, having helped bring the easy-open end to market, and today we're building on that legacy with a clear focus on sustainability and smart engineering," says Brandon Rinehart, vice president of innovation at DRT. "By leveraging our deep technical know-how with Novelis' advanced recycling and rolling technology, we are unlocking new value and improving efficiencies via sustainability benefits for the entire beverage can industry."

The global aluminum beverage packaging industry needs innovative solutions to reach sustainability goals more quickly, according to Novelis. The use of high-recycled-content aluminum alloys in can ends represents an important shift in material innovation, reducing carbon emissions, improving recyclability and strengthening the closed-loop recycling system.

Through this partnership, Novelis and DRT will seek to develop solutions that can be adopted across the industry, making it easier for can makers to integrate unialloy beverage can ends in their manufacturing processes.