thyssenkrupp expands customer options for reducing CO2 emissions

Germany’s only tinplate manufacturer, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein, is expanding its sustainability strategy and now offers customers in the packaging industry additional options for reducing CO2 emissions. The company now has added tinplate made from CO2 reduced bluemint Steel to its portfolio for which alternative input materials are used in the steel production process. This primarily reduces the use of coal for the reduction process in the blast furnace, resulting in real reduction in carbon emissions.

Additional carbon reduction is possible by using the innovative packaging steel grade rasselstein Solidflex in the production of easy open ends for food cans and in the tops and bottoms of aerosol cans. This is the result of a study carried out by Sphera Solutions on behalf of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein in accordance with ISO standards DIN ISO 14040 / 14044.

“Based on the reductions in thickness of the material made possible by rasselstein® Solidflex, significant CO2 reduction can be achieved. This is very interesting for our customers who want to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Carmen Tschage, head of communications and market development at thyssenkrupp Rasselstein. The results were confirmed in a critical review by TÜV Süd.

Reducing CO2 by using innovative packaging steel grades

rasselstein Solidflex is a packaging steel grade which is hard but also particularly formable. It therefore allows the use of thinner material while maintaining the stability of cans. Featuring an elongation of more than 5% and yield strengths of 600 – 750 MPa, the material is particularly suitable for applications that require not only high strength but also considerable forming potential – such as easy open ends for food cans or aerosol can tops and bottoms. The special feature: reducing the material thicknesses of these components also allows the thicknesses of the can bodies to be reduced. For this purpose, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein offers its customers special packaging steel grades that are optimally suited to the overall system. The technical customer service at thyssenkrupp Rasselstein is able to advise on all available options.

The study reviewed the saving of CO2 equivalents for tinplate inserts in food cans with a filling volume of 425ml. The technology of the innovative packaging steel rasselstein Solidflex enables a thickness reduction of the material for easy open ends. This results in a reduction in CO2 emissions. The thickness of an easy open end can be reduced from 0.18 mm to 0.16mm. As a result, the weight of the cans is reduced by 1.98%. Looking at the impact on the carbon footprint, this measure achieves a saving of 2.14% in material use. Per end alone, this amounts to 2.9g of carbon.

The potential can be expanded even further if, in addition to easy open ends made of rasselstein Solidflex, optimised packaging steel grades are also used for the body and bottom. In this way, the weight of food cans and the carbon footprint can be reduced by 13.52%. This results in material-related CO2 reduction of 18.4g per can. “The studies therefore show that even a simple change in the packaging steel grade to rasselstein Solidflex can produce clearly measurable CO2 reduction. Especially in combination with our other optimised materials, emissions can be significantly reduced,” Tschage added.

Aerosol cans are also offering significant savings potential. For example, the weight of an aerosol can with a brimful capacity of 378ml can be reduced by 14.34%. For packaging steel-related CO2 emissions, this means savings of 14.41% or 22.0g per aerosol can. In this case, tops and bottoms are made from rasselstein Solidflex and the bodies from a suitable packaging steel from the thyssenkrupp Rasselstein portfolio.

The first CO2-reduced tinplate cans went into production in March

Another important element in thyssenkrupp Rasselstein’s sustainability strategy is tinplate made from bluemint Steel. This steel, produced at thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, was used at the Andernach-based tinplate producer for the first time earlier this year.

bluemint Steel is available in bluemint pure and bluemint recycled versions. Except in their specific carbon emissions, these variants do not differ in their material properties from existing steel grades, retaining the customary high quality of rasselstein packaging steel. The products are examples for the first successful transformation under thyssenkrupp Steel’s climate strategy. “In the coming years we will be investing enormously in innovations and technologies that will bring our customers ever closer to the common goal of climate neutrality and a green steel product,” said Tschage.

One of the first customers for the tinplate made from bluemint Steel is the traditional Swiss company Ricola. In the future, the herbal candy maker will also offer its herbal candies in CO2 reduced food cans. “For us, sustainability and innovation go hand in hand. This also applies to the packaging of our herbal candies. That is why we are the first company in our market to also use cans made of CO2 reduced steel. In the production of bluemint Steel thyssenkrupp Steel reduces the use of coal for the reduction process in the blast furnace. In collaboration with Hoffmann Neopac, this has resulted in packaging that has a much lower carbon footprint than conventional cans,” said Dr Martin Messerli, chief operating officer of Ricola.

Zentis also uses tinplate made from bluemint Steel for the closures of its NaturRein fruit spreads. These closures are manufactured by thyssenkrupp Rasselstein’s customer Pano Verschluss.

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein intends to promote sustainable product innovations even more heavily in the future and has now established a dedicated department for this purpose. “We want to continue to deliver our usual high quality with our ideas and products. In addition, we are examining our new developments to see what possible impact they have on CO2 emissions and how emissions can best be reduced in the manufacturing process. This will ensure that our customers receive the customary high product quality while we are complying with the highest possible sustainability criteria,” said Tschage.