Alcoa, Ball and Unilever partner for first use of ELYSIS carbon-free smelting technology

Alcoa Corporation, Ball Corporation and Unilever PLC announced the first use of breakthrough ELYSIS carbon-free smelting technology in consumer personal and home care packaging. The announcement comes ahead of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30)—a global gathering of government, industry, finance and academic leaders to discuss climate change and the need for collaborative solutions across multiple sectors.

This collaboration marks the first time aluminium produced using ELYSIS carbon-free smelting technology – an innovation that eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions from smelting generating oxygen in place of CO2 –is being used in consumer personal and home care packaging. The resulting aerosol can, made with 50% ELYSIS primary aluminium and 50% post-consumer recycled content, represents one of the lowest-carbon packaging solutions of its kind.

This initiative serves as a model of how industries can collaborate across the value chain to accelerate low-carbon innovation. It also demonstrates clear alignment with global decarbonisation goals and with growing consumer demand for more sustainable products.

“Through this collaboration with Ball and Unilever, we’re helping bring low-carbon aluminium into everyday products and demonstrating how innovation at the material level can deliver tangible sustainability benefits,” said Renato Bacchi, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Alcoa. “We are proud to collaborate across the aluminium value chain to reduce carbon footprints and create real impact in people’s daily lives.”

“This project combines higher recycled content and low-carbon primary aluminium – both key to decarbonise aluminium packaging and the aluminium sector at large. This is both a packaging innovation and critical supply chain collaboration at work,” said Ramon Arratia, chief sustainability officer & vice president, public affairs at Ball Corporation.

The debut of ELYSIS aluminium in consumer personal and home care packaging marks a pivotal moment for the aluminium packaging and consumer goods industries. Together, Alcoa, Ball and Unilever are proving that collaboration can unlock applications for technologies in established markets and reduce GHG emissions.