Why Constellium’s Aeral aluminum helps cans feel lighter and tougher

Reviewed: ad hoc news Software & Services desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-18, 22:36. Details in the imprint.

Constellium’s Aeral aluminum for aerosol cans is one of those materials you do not notice until you pick up the can and feel the weight - or rather, the lack of it. The walls feel thin, almost delicate, yet the can survives the bag, the bathroom, the suitcase. This tension between lightness and strength is exactly what Aeral is built for.

What Aeral is made for

Aeral is a dedicated aluminum alloy that Constellium developed specifically for monobloc aerosol cans, not a generic sheet repurposed from other uses. The material is tailored so can makers can draw and iron ultra-thin walls without giving up burst resistance.

In production, the alloy arrives as coils and then runs through high-speed lines where cups are punched, stretched and ironed into tall cans in seconds. The idea is simple: the metal should flow predictably under brutal forming forces and spring back into a stable, smooth cylinder.

Lighter cans, same pressure

According to Constellium, Aeral can reduce the weight of aerosol cans by up to 30 percent compared with conventional aluminum while maintaining performance. Less metal per can means less transport weight, lower material costs and a better CO2 balance per unit for brand owners.

The impressive part is that these thinner cans still need to survive pressurised contents, rough logistics and occasional bathroom drops. Pressure resistance and dent behavior therefore dominate lab testing long before the alloy reaches a commercial filler’s line.

How it behaves on the line

For can makers, the first question is always whether an alloy behaves well on existing equipment. Constellium stresses that Aeral is designed for standard monobloc aerosol production lines, providing consistent drawability and ironing response so plants do not have to rewrite their playbook from scratch.

Operators report that stable mechanical properties matter more than exotic chemistry. When the metal behaves the same on Monday and Friday, scrap rates stay low and tool wear is predictable. In that sense, Aeral is engineered more like a process partner than a lab curiosity.

Feel and look in daily use

End users never see the alloy label but they feel the outcome immediately. A hair spray or deodorant can built on Aeral sits noticeably lighter in the hand, especially in 250 ml to 400 ml sizes, yet does not flex worryingly under a firm squeeze.

Brand teams care about the surface, not the tensile curve. The alloy’s surface quality is prepared for smooth coating and printing, so bright gradients, sharp logos and metallic finishes remain clean even on the shoulder and around the base radius.

Sustainability angle and recycling

Aluminum is fully recyclable without losing its core properties, and Constellium positions Aeral clearly as a sustainable packaging material. Every gram saved across millions of units reduces the overall metal demand and the energy embodied in those cans over their life cycle.

In regions with strong return and recycling systems, empty Aeral-based cans flow back into the scrap stream and can become new packaging, automotive parts or industrial profiles. In practice, the biggest lever remains local collection and sorting infrastructure, not the alloy itself.

Where Aeral fits in the market

Aeral targets personal care and household products first - deodorants, hair sprays, air fresheners - where aerosol formats remain standard on supermarket shelves. The alloy’s combination of light weight and resilience makes it attractive wherever units are high and margins are tight.

Brand owners under pressure from retailers and regulators to cut packaging footprints often treat material light-weighting as a low-drama measure. A few grams saved per can, multiplied by tens of millions of pieces, delivers noticeable logistics savings without a visible risk for consumers.

Company backdrop and listing

Constellium SE, headquartered in Paris with major operations in Europe and North America, focuses on high-value aluminum products across packaging, automotive and aerospace. Beyond Aeral, it supplies alloys for beverage cans, car body sheets and aircraft structures.

Shares of Constellium SE (NL0010480949) trade on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars under the ticker CSTM.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.