Used Beverage Cans: Speira Commences Operations at New Recycling Furnace in Neuss
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Speira, an aluminum rolling and recycling company, has officially commissioned a new, fourth recycling furnace at its Rheinwerk facility in Neuss. With this, the company has completed an investment project totaling approximately €40 million to expand its recycling operations at the site.
In addition to the new furnace, which has an annual capacity of about 60,000 metric tons of aluminum, the funds were also used to optimize the third of a total of four casting lines for recycled alloys and to create additional storage capacity for 6,500 metric tons of beverage can scrap.
The new storage areas were created in the approximately 300-meter-long halls of the former aluminum smelter. The project also includes facilities for receiving and sampling the scrap delivered to the site. The new recycling furnace is also prepared for the use of hydrogen, should the Rheinwerk be connected to a corresponding supply network in the future.
With this expansion, Speira is continuing the transition of the Rheinwerk from energy-intensive primary aluminum production to aluminum recycling. Electrolysis at the site has since been completely shut down. “With the new facilities, we are creating the conditions to keep significantly more aluminum in the recycling loop and to provide our customers with additional quantities of recycled aluminum,” explained Speira CEO Einar Glomnes last week at the ceremonial commissioning of the new furnace.
An important market for the additional recycled aluminum is the beverage can industry. Among its customers is the Austrian energy drink manufacturer Red Bull, which uses recycled aluminum from Speira for its beverage cans. According to Speira, the rising demand for this type of can material is a key driver behind the expansion of recycling capacity at the Rheinwerk.
“Ten years ago, together with our team, we set out on a path to consistently focus the Rheinwerk on recycling,” said Boris Kurth, Head of the Can Business Unit at Speira. With the completion of the €40 million investment, the company has now reached a decisive milestone in the transformation of the site. According to the company, by expanding its recycling capacity, Speira also aims to help make the European aluminum industry less dependent on raw material imports and reduce the outflow of aluminum scrap through exports to other regions of the world.
