Energy boost. (BackPage).

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks are providing a boost not only to young people keeping late hours, but also to the aluminum industry.

So-called "energy drinks" such as Red Bull, Venom, KMX and 180 have grown wildly in popularity in North America in the past two years. The energy-boosting beverages are most commonly sold in aluminum cans, often in an 8.2-ounce "slim" can.

According the The Aluminum Association in its periodical Aluminum Now, there are now more than 30 brands of energy drinks on the market with $275 million in annual sales.

Whether the popularity of the drinks will continue to grow is uncertain, but the major beverage companies are not taking any chances on missing out. Some of the aforementioned energy drinks are put out by such industry giants as Pepsi Cola, Coca-Cola, Snapple and Anheuser-Busch.

Yet to be heard from are government regulators, who may eventually issue some guidelines as to how many and what amount of active ingredients can be safely used in one energy drink serving.

In the meantime, though, aluminum can makers (and recyclers, hopefully) are enjoying the tide of new can production and can recycling opportunities created by the high-energy beverage segment.