En+ Group’s Metals Segment teams with Ball Corporation to produce ultra-low carbon aerosols

On Wednesday, July 7, Rusal, the metals segment of En+ Group, the world’s largest producer of low carbon aluminium and independent hydropower, has announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Ball Corporation to produce aerosols and other containers, using ground-breaking inert anode technology.

The ultra-low inert anode carbon aluminium is one of the several levers that Ball uses to reduce the carbon footprint of its aluminium slugs, cans, and bottles.

Rusal recently announced that it successfully produced aluminium with the industry’s lowest carbon footprint: less than 0.01 tonnes of CO2e per tonne of metal. Hence, the purity of the metal is higher than 99 per cent.

In the smelting process, inert anodes replace standard carbon anodes with inert, non-consumable materials. En+ Metals segment is leading the development of carbon-free aluminium production and is working to scale up the technology to a commercial level.

Steve Hodgson, Director of Sales and Marketing of En+’s Metal segment, stated: “Our partnership with Ball Corporation represents the future possibility of sustainable aluminium products that go beyond our current low carbon capabilities by eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions during production. We are particularly excited to compliment Ball’s own sustainability platform and help meet the demands of future generations.”

Ball Corporation Senior Director for Sustainability, Innovation and Business Development Jason Galley explained: “Aluminium is the perfect material for a circular economy because of its high value, and the fact that it can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality. Few people realise that 75% of all the aluminium ever produced in the history of mankind is still in use today. With increasing demand for aluminium packaging around the world, we need to focus on mitigating any environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts related to that supply. This is why we collaborate closely with suppliers such as En+ Metals segment to achieve responsible sourcing.”

Both Ball Corporation and En+ Metals segment are the members of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative.