Speira has poured €40 million into expanding can recycling capacity at its Rheinwerk site, with the goal of achieving annual CO₂ savings of up to 1.5 million metric tons (mt).​

As part of this #investment, a new melting furnace—specifically designed for processing scrap—has been installed at the German site, and production with this furnace is set to start in early 2026. In addition to the furnace, the Rheinwerk site has also finished building a new scrap storage facility, which takes up one-third of the entire site’s area.​

Volker Backs, Speira’s Managing Director, noted that the company has shifted away from energy-intensive primary aluminium production. “This decision was a must, considering Germany's #energy policy outlook and our responsibility to ensure the long-term viability of our entire company,” he said. He also added that Speira’s transformation into a pure recycling group—a journey that began over 20 years ago—has been accelerated once more with this investment.​

The new furnace will melt aluminium #scrap, which will then undergo rolling and be processed into beverage cans. Notably, beverage cans have a short life cycle: roughly 60 days from #production to disposal. This means the same can can go through the Rheinwerk facility’s recycling process multiple times each year.​

Boris Kurth, Head of the Rheinwerk site, commented on the new scrap storage facility: “The large halls gave us the space to think and plan on a grand scale. This massive new scrap storage area provides more input for all our #recycling furnaces—not just the newly installed one.”​