Aerosol can made with recycled and carbon-free aluminium sets new low-carbon benchmark

A new pilot project has seen Alcoa Corporation, Ball Corporation and Unilever collaborate on what is believed to be the first use of ELYSIS® carbon-free smelting technology in consumer packaging. The development was announced ahead of the upcoming COP30 climate conference, which will bring together global leaders to discuss climate action and industrial decarbonisation.

The prototype aerosol can combines 50% aluminium produced using the ELYSIS process with 50% post-consumer recycled content, resulting in a notably low-carbon packaging solution for personal care and home care applications. The ELYSIS technology removes direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process, generating oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.

According to the companies, the project highlights how collaboration across the value chain can accelerate progress toward lower-emission packaging and contribute to broader global sustainability goals.

Renato Bacchi, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Alcoa, said: Through this collaboration with Ball and Unilever, we’re helping bring low-carbon aluminum into everyday products and demonstrating how innovation at the material level can deliver tangible sustainability benefits. We are proud to collaborate across the aluminum value chain to reduce carbon footprints and create real impact in people’s daily lives.

Ramon Arratia, Chief Sustainability Officer & Vice President, Public Affairs at Ball Corporation, said: This project combines higher recycled content and low-carbon primary aluminum - both key to decarbonize aluminum packaging and the aluminum sector at large. This is both a packaging innovation and critical supply chain collaboration at work.

Shailendra Sadera, Unilever’s Chief Procurement Officer, said: This partnership is an example of how we can develop innovations to seize emission reduction opportunities to accelerate climate progress together.

The introduction of ELYSIS-produced aluminium into consumer packaging represents a key step in demonstrating how emerging low-carbon technologies can be applied within established industries to help reduce overall environmental impact.