Metal coatings makeover: Inside AkzoNobel’s €32M investment for a bisphenol-free packaging market

05 Jan 2024 --- Dutch coatings company AkzoNobel is investing €32 million (US$35 million) in a new plant at its Vilafranca site in Spain, producing bisphenol-free coatings for the EMEA’s metal packaging industry.

The company says the facility will use advanced automation and is designed according to high eco-efficiency standards — enabling a “step-change in energy and material efficiency.”

The plant is expected to be operational by mid-2025 and will create around 40 jobs. 

Christopher Bradford, marketing director of AkzoNobel’s Industrial Coatings business, speaks with Packaging Insights about the necessities and challenges of creating metal coatings void of bisphenol-a (BPA), a chemical compound traditionally used to protect metal packaging and its contents.

While BPA does protect products they may also have the unintended effect of migrating into them at low levels. Last year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its opinion on the safety threshold of BPA in food contact materials. This led to a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) level of 0.2 ug/kg body weight per day — 20,000 times lower than the previous TDI of 4.0 µg/kg.

“There’s a growing belief that removing bisphenols is the right thing to do. We agree and believe there’s an opportunity for the industry to shape change together in developing alternative solutions,” says Bradford. 

The EFSA has linked bisphenol contact to a number of serious health issues.The bisphenol problem 
The EFSA’s opinion is that BPA levels higher than the new TDI are a health concern for all age groups. This means that moving forward, EFSA’s stance will inform EU lawmakers on the appropriate regulatory measures needed to protect consumers. Changes will be on a magnitude “not previously witnessed by the packaging industry,” according to Bradford. 

“The anticipated tighter regulations that will result from the EFSA opinion will require significant changes to the current status quo. While the legislation is not expected before 2026, it’s clear that any legislation is expected to impact 75% of European packaging volumes,” he says. 

“The outcome can only mean an effective ban on the use of BPA-based coatings in F&B contact materials in the EU. Can manufacturers in Europe will need to make the transition to a BPA-free world, and many areas beyond the EU will have to follow.” 

AkzoNobel’s new plant will allow the company to offer leading-edge products to any customer and country in EMEA, responding to Europe’s most stringent bisphenol regulations, according to Bradford.

Metal additive challenges 
In order to meet the new regulatory landscape, bisphenol-free coatings will need to be demonstrably as robust as existing coatings to reassure can makers, brands and consumers, Bradford asserts. 

“They’ll have to meet or exceed all government regulations and successfully undergo extensive critical-to-quality testing with can-makers to be as good, or better, than traditional coatings at withstanding the harsh processing needs of the F&B industry, including retort, pasteurization and mobility.” 

The transition to non-bisphenols will also need to be process viable, meaning that alternative technology has to be designed to integrate into existing production processes without impacting quality or productivity.Acrylic‑based technology is a central part of AkzoNobel’s plan to phase out bisphenol coatings.

“The biggest challenge is the constantly moving goalposts. Moving to a BPA-free world, only to face further evolving restrictions, for example, totally bisphenol-free, will be a hurdle of continuous change. As we meet the speed and frequency of changes and integrate alternative technologies into the commercial mainstream, we increase the risk of supply chain interruption, higher costs and interim regrettable substitutions,” continues Bradford. 

He notes that preventing the interim adoption of other damaging substances and minimizing the number of technological changes will reduce risk and economic impact. 

“There’s also a shortage of experts to support F&B can makers through the the sweeping industry transition in a way that’s commercially and economically viable. We’ll have to be careful not to create serious issues in the supply chain and or cause negative impacts on consumers.” 

Acrylic‑based technology
AkzoNobel primarily uses acrylic‑based technology to replace bisphenols — a method already widely adopted and proven in the packaging industry. Acrylics have the advantage of providing a clearly established toxicology profile that avoids the disputes arising from bisphenols. 

“It’s the same with polyesters, which are proven to be safe and have a well-defined and well-understood safety narrative. But removing BPA and bisphenols altogether from the coating does present challenges from a technical perspective,” says Bradford. 

In the beverage sector, the industry also needs to accommodate some of the more challenging new drink types that are becoming common in the market.

“High-alcohol beverages such as cider or wine, for example, are especially aggressive on the coating, and alternatives with the same performance aren’t easy to find. It’s not a simple case of swapping one coating for another.” 

“It’s our opinion that state-of-the-art metal can packaging coatings have advanced to the point where bisphenols are no longer required to create safe coatings. We’ll continue to sell epoxy coatings when they’re compliant with local regulations and where there’s viable customer demand, but importantly, we’ll offer bisphenol-free alternatives across the globe,” he continues. 

“Necessity is the mother of invention, and the solutions being developed now will ultimately be safer for the consumer and protect the longer-term interests of can makers and food producers worldwide.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton