Speira to spend €40m for additional aluminium recycling capacity

Speira has invested €40m in additional can recycling capacity at its Rheinwerk site, with the aim of reaching CO₂ savings of up to 1.5mt per year.

As part of the investment a new melting furnace was installed specifically for scrap at the German site, with production scheduled for early 2026.

Volker Backs, managing director of Speira, said: “Speira has moved away from energy-intensive primary production.  This decision was inevitable in light of Germany’s energy policy outlook and our responsibility for the future viability of our entire company. And our transformation into a pure recycling group – a path we began over 20 years ago – has been accelerated once again.”

The furnace will melt the aluminium scrap which will then be processed into beverage cans after rolling. As well as the melting furnace, the Rheinwerk site has completed the construction of a new scrap storage facility, which covers a third of the site.

Due to the short life span of beverage cans, around 60 days from production to disposal, the same can pass through the facility multiple times a year.

Boris Kurth, head of the Rheinwork, added: “The long halls allowed us to think and plan big. This huge new scrap storage facility creates space for more input for all our recycling furnaces – not just the new one.”