Weight reduction of metal container to aim for zero carbon emissions

Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.

Outline

As an initiative to reduce the weight of metal containers toward zero carbon emissions, we will seek to decrease carbon emissions derived from can materials to the maximum extent by further reducing the weight of steel and aluminum cans. The technical aspects of this challenge include enhancement of can strength by changing shapes and designs of can body and bottom, and preservation of can strength through further refining the accuracy of metal processing. This will enable us to continuously provide the industry’s lightest metal containers to contribute to zero carbon activities. As for material-based approaches, we will increasingly adopt metal materials whose smelting and rolling processes use hydrogen and renewable energy sources, and will raise the ratio of recycled materials, thereby reducing carbon emissions derived from can materials. Through the combination of all above measures, we aim to eventually achieve zero carbon emissions related to our metal containers.

Description

Target of this challenge:
We aim to gradually reduce carbon emissions by decreasing the amount of metal consumption per can with innovative weight-reduction technology.

With the step-by-step reduction of the amount of metal materials:
- We will achieve an annual reduction of 30,000 ton in CO2 emissions* by 2030.
- We aim to provide “zero-carbon metal containers” by 2050 with more advanced weight reduction technology and adopting metal materials that lead to lower carbon emissions.

* CO2 emissions from the processes from metal procurement to disposal and recycling, estimated based on the results for FY2018.

Hurdles to overcome in accomplishing the challenge:
- Establishment of can forming and continuous production technologies
- Maintenance of required product performance

Specific actions:
We expect to launch the industry’s lightest can on the market in 2021 and expand its production across our domestic plants. We also promote the expansion of the weight-reduction technology to our overseas plants.

Impact when the challenge is accomplished:
These weight reduction efforts will contribute to decreasing total carbon emissions from our domestic and overseas plants.