The jury recognised significant savings in energy, water and CO~2~ as well as the contribution to the circular use of reusable packaging.

Congratulations to the entire team behind Lavasonic HI! Thanks to your efforts, Krones has once again received an award at the German Sustainability Award (Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis, DNP), more specifically the DNP 2027 for Products in the “Climate” transformation field.

Energy and resource efficiency impress the jury

Bottle cleaning machines are among the most energy-intensive systems in an industrial filling line. Lavasonic HI therefore addresses several key factors at the same time. It combines ultrasonic technology with an innovative process design. Individually controllable cleaning parameters and optimised flow management enable shorter cleaning times as well as reduced consumption of energy, water and chemicals.
According to the operational data submitted as part of the competition, the following savings can be achieved: up to

• 30 percent in heat demand,
• 20 percent in fresh water consumption and
• 35 percent in CO~2~ emissions.

In addition to the low consumption figures, the jury was also impressed by the gentle cleaning process: Thanks to reduced mechanical and chemical stress within the machine, reusable glass and PET bottles can remain in circulation for longer. “This means the technology combines savings potential in the cleaning process with improved circularity,” the jury stated in its written justification.

Hat-trick completed!

Incidentally, this is already the third honour for Krones as part of the German Sustainability Award: At the DNP 2025, Steinecker received the Product Award for its Phoenix BMC biomass conversion solution. The following year, Krones AG was recognised with the Corporate Award in the “Mechanical Engineering” category.

How the Krones Film and Packaging Laboratory helps cut material use.

Not all films are the same. Various parameters such as thickness profile, shrink rate and coefficient of friction influence the material’s shrink quality. The use of thinner films or those with a higher recycled content also has an impact on the production process, and therefore on the appearance and stability of packs.

To ensure that only containers of flawless quality leave the production line, Krones experts subject the films used to intensive scrutiny. For more than ten years, the company’s in-house film and packaging laboratory has been investigating the impact of various film properties. This expertise is now also available as a Lifecycle Service (LCS) product. The laboratory provides customers with a detailed analysis report that outlines the characteristics and limitations of a film parameter by parameter. This not only enables thinner or recycled films to be integrated into production but also a more resource-efficient path to implementation.

Picture: Rupert Marinus Wörndl, Dominique Gerlach and Michael Eisenkolb (from left) support customers with the analysis of films.