Two European companies have signed an agreement they say will allow them to bring a new 'no-spill' closure for beverages to the market.

Norway-based SmartSeal and Switzerland-based Corvaglia say the agreement covers the development, manufacturing and sales of the SmartSeal Flex range of closures.

The Flex line of closures have an automatically activated closure valve as the main feature.

"This provides spill control and increased user convenience in the growing market of on-the-go consumption," the two companies said in a statement announcing the agreement.

The agreement gives the companies the ability to offer beverage makers an off-the-shelf closure; said SmartSeal chief executive officer, Jan Skoglund.

"Working with Corvaglia puts SmartSeal in a premium position when introducing the SmartSeal Flex range of closures to the market," he stated.

Thomas Anderegg, his counterpart at Corvaglia Closures said his company can bring the product to market in a short time "without compromise".

The agreement covers manufacturing and sales in Europe and Latin America.

In other news the BBC reports that Coca-Cola has been testing a new drinks can that can be re-sealed by customers. The tests were conducted in Jersey and Guernsey.

The seal works by substituting the current metal ringpull for a flatplastic tab which swivels over the can's opening, the BBC reported. 

A newspaper also reported the development cost "millions of pounds in research and development" and that the invention will enable the drink to be sold in much bigger cans that do not have to be guzzled in one go.