Speira has opened a new recycling furnace for beverage cans at its Rheinwerk site in Neuss, Germany. The site was previously a primary aluminium smelter.

The company has invested around €40m in the project. As well as the furnace, the money covers upgrades to the third of four casting lines for recycled alloys and new storage for 6,500 tonnes of can scrap. The storage sits in the 300-metre halls of the old smelter and includes areas for receiving and sampling incoming scrap. Speira says the furnace is hydrogen-ready for when the site is connected to the hydrogen grid.

Red Bull, which uses cans made from Speira’s recycled aluminium, attended the opening. Speira says the beverage can sector is the fastest-growing part of its recycled aluminium business. It adds that rising demand for circular can material is a key reason for the expansion at Rheinwerk.

Einar Glomnes, CEO of Speira, said: “Europe needs more circular economy and fewer raw material losses. With the new facilities, we are creating the conditions to keep significantly more aluminium in the loop and to provide our customers with additional quantities of recycled aluminium.”

Boris Kurth, head of the can business unit at Speira, said: “Ten years ago, together with our team, we set out on a path to systematically reposition the Rheinwerk towards recycling. With the completion of the 40-million-euro investment, we are now reaching a decisive milestone in this transformation.”

Alexander Kirchmayr, CFO and board member at Red Bull, said: “The strong partnership between Speira and Red Bull is based on our shared commitment to sustainable business operations and the circular economy as the foundation for long-term success.”

The plant was officially opened by three local officials:

• Mona Neubaur, North Rhine-Westphalia’s minister for economic affairs
• Katharina Reinhold, district administrator of the Rhein-Kreis Neuss
• Reiner Breuer, mayor of Neuss

Neubaur said: “Instead of producing new aluminium using large amounts of energy, the company consistently focuses on recycling. Low-CO₂ aluminium from Neuss is already being used today in beverage cans and automotive body components around the world.”

Speira says recycling aluminium uses around 95% less energy than primary production. It also argues that the extra capacity will help Europe keep can scrap in the region rather than losing it to export.

Speira operates 11 recycling and production sites in Germany and Norway. It recycles up to 650,000 tonnes of aluminium a year and produces around one million tonnes of rolled products.