Aluminium Alliance aims to impact value chain in Germany

The formation of the German Aluminium Alliance could spell a positive future for the country’s canmakers, despite none being a direct part of the union.

Formed on 8 October, the German Aluminium Alliance includes trade unions IG Metal and IGBCE, five federal states, and industry association Aluminium Deutschland. 

According to Marius Baader, managing director of Aluminium Deutschland, the focus is on the supply chain, rather than canmakers or packaging materials.

“It’s more an approach to support the entire value chain, where cans are a crucial part but not the only one,” he said.

Its formation is to ensure policymakers understand what’s at stake for the industry, the kind of hurdles it has to overcome, and what kind of research and development needs support from the government, Baader added.

Upon formation of the alliance, the signatories agreed upon four common goals: working towards climate-neutral production, ensuring competitiveness in the German aluminium industry, promoting a circular economy, and creating good working conditions and sustainable social security.

The economy ministry of Sachsen Anhalt is one member of the new union. The East German state is home to one of the world’s largest aluminium recycling centres, Novelis Nachterstedt, said Baader. Owned by US can sheet producer Novelis, upon opening in 2014, the company claimed the facility will process up to 400,000 metric tonnes of aluminium scrap per year.

The economic ministries of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland are also included in the collective, along with the economic authority of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

Aluminium rolling and recycling giant Speira has a large recycling plant for used beverage cans (UBS) located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baader told The Canmaker. Earlier this year, Speira expanded its Rheinwerk facility to bolster its recycling capacity. 

The latest report by trade bodies Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium shows that the overall recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans in Germany is 99%.