The weight of the aluminum can has kept reducing ever since the commercialization of the all-aluminum can in 1959, and data from the American Aluminum Association shows that the conventional 330ml beverage can weight has dropped from the initial 85 grams to 9.8 grams in 2023, a reduction of 88.5%, at an average of 1.2 grams less every year. Ball Corporation’s “ultra-lightweight technology” reduces the wall thickness of the tank from 0.28mm to 0.097mm by the process of cold forming, and the compressive strength remains more than 18psi, and the weight of its 500ml beer can is reduced to 15.2 grams in 2022, which is 32% lighter than that of similar products in 2010. The European Packaging Materials Federation’s statistics show that the lightweight of aluminum cans has reduced the carbon footprint of a single can from 170gCO2e in 1990 to 60gCO2e in 2023, and the transportation cost has saved 2,300 liters of fuel per million cans.
In terms of technological innovation, Crown Holdings’ “intelligent laser welding technology” reduces the joint width of the tank to 0.3mm, causing the 355ml soda can to drop from 21 grams in 1980 to 10.5 grams in 2023, with a 50% weight reduction. Its “All-aluminum tank design” launched in 2021 by topological optimization algorithm, under the premise of maintaining the burst pressure of 2.5MPa, reduces the bottom thickness of the tank by 40%, and the aluminum consumption of a single tank to 8.7 grams. Daiwa’s “nano-coating technology” reduces the thickness of the protective layer on the inner wall of the tank to 0.02μm, driving the weight of 200ml functional beverage cans from 12.3 grams in 2005 down to 7.8 grams in 2023, with a 30% energy saving through recycling.
Driven by environmental regulation, the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive requires the average weight of aluminum cans in 2030 to be 15% lower than in 2018, which has prompted companies to invest in closed-loop recycling programs. For example, Novelis’ Recycled Aluminum Can Production Line uses 95% recycled aluminum to keep the weight of 350ml cans down to 10.2 grams, which is 92% energy efficient and 89% less carbon emissions than primary aluminum production. In 2022, Coca-Cola launched a 9.5 gram super-light tank in the European market, which enhanced the stacking strength by 18% through the “aerodynamic tank neck design” and reduced the logistics breakage rate from 0.7% to 0.15%.
For market consumption, the weight of Red Bull 250ml aluminum cans has been optimized from 15 grams in 2000 to 8.9 grams in 2023, the diameter of the tank has been reduced by 3.2mm, while the compressive strength has been increased to 22psi. Ab InBev’s “Thin can technology” reduced the weight of 500ml beer cans from 20.1g in 2015 to 14.5g, controlled the wall thickness variation at ±0.005mm, and enhanced the production line speed to 3,000 cans/minute. For every 1 gram reduction in aluminium can weight, the global consumption of aluminum per year is reduced by 23,000 tons, with a saving of 1.3 million tons of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to the annual carbon sink of 65,000 hectares of forest, according to McKinsey analysis.
As for future trends, Ardagh Metal Packaging’s “atomic layer deposition technology” can complete a 0.01μm grade protective coating in 0.1 seconds, and the goal is to lighten 330ml cans to 8.5 grams by 2025. Japan’s Toyo tank “bionic structure design” realizes strengthening by the honeycomb tank bottom, and bursting pressure is 2.8MPa when the tank is 9.2g, 24% higher than the traditional design. The global light-weighting of aluminum cans has driven the recycling rate from 15% in 1972 to 76% in 2023, and the International Aluminum Association is estimating that the weight of the aluminum can will be further reduced to less than 7 grams by 2040, whereas the whole life cycle carbon intensity will be 93% lower compared to 1990.