Aluminium International Today January February 2018

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

EXTRUSION

MINING & REFINING

SPANISH INDUSTRY FOCUS

www.aluminiumtoday.com January/February 2018—Vol.31 No.1

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

Alumina & Aluminium Technik

The driving force behind competitive aluminium production.

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CONTENTS 1

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Volume 31 No. 1 – January/February 2018 Editorial Editor: Nadine Bloxsome Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855115 nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com

COVER PRIMARY PRODUCTION

EXTRUSION

MINING & REFINING

2

LEADER

2

NEWS

SPANISH INDUSTRY FOCUS

Production Editor: Annie Baker www.aluminiumtoday.com January/February 2018—Vol.31 No.1

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

Sales

Alumina & Aluminium Technik

Sales Manager: Anne Considine anneconsidine@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855139 Sales Director: Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117

PRIMARY 6

Breaking new ground in energy consumption

8 12

Managing Director: Steve Diprose Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael

Aluminium Smelter The driving force behind competitive aluminium production.

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Cover picture courtesy of Claudius Peters

MINING & REFINING

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25

EXTRUSION 25

The shape of things to come

28

Hot metal gas forming of aluminium: An impactful process

38 34

PRODUCTS & PROJECTS AUTOMOTIVE

38

Electric vehicles and the potential for lightweight aluminium applications

42

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2 COMMENT

Hydro: Low carbon products Hydro has announced two new low-carbon aluminium products, designed to help customers reach their sustainability goals and meet the demand from ever more climate-conscious consumers.

Green aluminium Recent years have seen the aluminium industry become more committed to sustainable efforts across the supply chain.

The introduction of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative has seen more attention on responsible production and in particular a focus on critical issues like greenhouse gas emissions and waste management.

It is exciting to see this initiative begin to show the fruits of its labour, with the first ASI aluminium expected this year.

There are a number of other ‘green’ news items that have made it into the ‘top stories’ this month and the announcement of new low-carbon products show the industry is continuing to develop ways to reduce its environmental impact. This is especially important for upstream industries, which are renowned for being energy intensive.

This issue continues the environmental theme with an article from Hydro, which highlights how the new technology pilot is breaking ground in energy consumption.

There is also a feature from the Sustainability Director at Novelis, which focuses on creating sustainable value through customer collaboration.

I hope you enjoy this issue and don’t forget, there is still time to register to attend the Future Aluminium Forum in Milan in May. Join us to find out what the future holds for the industry and how you can be a part of it! nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com January/February 2018

Nadine jan feb.indd 1

The new products will be independently certified by DNV GL. The new products are: � Hydro 4.0: hydropower-based aluminium with a maximum content of 4.0 kg CO2 per kg aluminium, and; � Hydro 75R: aluminium with a guaranteed post-consumer recycled content of minimum 75 percent

“We are proud of our industry-leading climate strategy that has resulted in producing aluminium with the lowest energy consumption and the lowest emissions in the world, and our aim to become carbon-neutral from

a life-cycle perspective by 2020.

As every part of our aluminium production is managed in-house, we can now take the next step by launching certified sustainable aluminium products,” said Svein Richard Brandtzæg, Hydro’s CEO.

ALLOW launched UC RUSAL has reaffirmed its environmental credentials with launch of new low carbon aluminium brand ALLOW. The new low carbon aluminium brand, ALLOW features a significantly lower carbon footprint – specific volume of greenhouse gas emissions – as compared to the industry average.

As demand amongst consumers grows for more sustainable and environmentally friendly aluminium, RUSAL has seized on the opportunity to utilise its unique access to clean, renewable hydro power to provide a product with a much reduced carbon foot-

print. ALLOW’s carbon footprint is lower than 4t CO2/t Al, while the world average is currently approximately 12t CO2/t Al (scope 1 and 2 at the smelter). All ALLOW branded metal produced by RUSAL will be independently verified so as to provide credible quality assurance for its customers.

Since its foundation, RUSAL has invested significantly into reducing its environmental footprint by modernising its facilities and developing new technologies.

In 2016, its total expenditure on implementing environmental actions totalled USD119.9 million.

Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of RUS-

AL, commented: “The launch of our new low carbon aluminium brand, ALLOW, represents a watershed moment for RUSAL in terms of sales strategy development and work with our customers.

We know that consumers are increasingly demanding ever greater detail about the provenance of the products they purchase and their associated carbon footprint. ALLOW will provide consumers and manufacturers alike with confidence that the aluminium used in their products has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry.”

EGA: Alumina deal Emirates Global Aluminium has signed a three-year alumina supply agreement with Vinacomin, a Vietnamese state-owned firm.

Under the agreement, Vinacomin will supply EGA with up to 300,000 tonnes of alumina per year. Alumina is the feedstock for aluminium smelters.

The deal is the first long-term agreement to supply Vietnamese alumina to the UAE and significantly boosts the bilateral trading relationship between the two countries.

The agreement was signed in Hanoi by EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Abdul-

la Kalban and Vinacom’s President and Chief Executive Officer Dang Thanh Hai, and was witnessed by the UAE Ambassador to Vietnam His Excellency Khalid Alqahtani.

Abdulla Kalban said: “This agreement with Vinacomin is in line with our strategy to diversify our sources of supply for alumina,

to secure the resources that the UAE’s aluminium industry needs to grow at competitive prices. We are pleased to have Vinacomin as an alumina supplier for EGA, and also to see the economic relationship between our two countries grow. We hope to develop our relationship with Vinacomin further in the future.”

EGA is building the UAE’s first alumina refinery at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi. Once construction is completed, the Al Taweelah alumina refinery will produce 2 million tonnes of alumina per year, enough to meet 40 per cent of EGA’s requirements.

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INDUSTRY NEWS 3

Novelis

NEWS IN BRIEF

investment Novelis Inc., has announced a $4.5 million manufacturing investment at its facility in Warren, Ohio.

The investment in state-of-theart technology provides greater versatility for pretreatments, improves operational efficiency and reduces costs over time. Novelis’ Warren facility has 75 employees dedicated to applying coating to rolled aluminium sheet. The sheet is then used for production of lids for the tops of aluminium beverage cans, producing enough for more than one billion beverage can lids each month.

“We are thrilled to announce this local investment,” said Paul Nelson, Plant Manager. “Due to a steady U.S. can market and Novelis’ strong financial performance across the globe, we are making the investments necessary to sustain our operation here in Warren for many years to come.”

ASI Update The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has launched a new Certification program for the aluminium value chain, focused on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of this important industrial metal.

Following the launch, ASI members can now seek Certification against ASI’s Standards.

The ASI’s Performance Standard covers critical issues for the entire aluminium value chain including greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, material stewardship, biodiversity and human rights. ASI’s Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard links responsible production with responsible sourcing and thus increases the emphasis on sustainability issues in procurement. Implementation of both Standards should see the first ASI Aluminium available from 2018 or 2019.

Aluminium International Today

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Power expansion project LTI Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) Power Expansion Project Power Station (PS) 5 and Power Distribution System (PDS) celebrated a record of 3 million work-hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI) as of end December 2017.

New sheet facility Aleris has announced the opening of its aluminium automotive body sheet production facility in Lewisport, Kentucky.

The project, which represents a $400 million investment, positions Aleris to meet significant growth in North American automotive demand as the industry pursues broader aluminium use for the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The company began shipping automotive products from Lewisport to customers this month.

“The opening of our new automotive facility in Kentucky marks the completion of a significant piece of our strategic realignment, which includes expanding our capacity and capabilities to serve the automotive industry and other

high value end uses,” Aleris Chairman and CEO Sean Stack said. “As an experienced supplier to automotive manufacturers in Europe, we look forward to partnering with customers more closely now in North America to bring them the most advanced auto body sheet products in the industry.”

Lewisport is the company’s first site in North America that is equipped with aluminium auto body sheet finishing capabilities.

Announced in 2014, the expansion includes the addition of heat treatment and finishing capabilities, including a new wide cold mill, two continuous annealing lines and an automotive innovation centre, which includes a state-of-the-art research and development centre in Detroit.

Liberty House to acquire Rio Tinto smelter?

Rio Tinto has received a binding offer from Liberty House to acquire Rio Tinto’s Aluminium Dunkerque smelter in northern France for $500 million, subject to final adjustments. In accordance with French law, Rio Tinto will launch a consultation process with employees, relevant European works councils and other stakeholders in relation to the bid. Subject to satisfactory completion of these consultations, Rio Tinto expects to complete the sale of Aluminium Dunkerque in the second quarter of 2018.

The proposal received from Liberty House, which acquired Rio Tinto’s Lochaber Smelter

and assets in Scotland in December 2016, includes plans for the modernisation of the site.

Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said “The binding offer for the sale of Aluminium Dunkerque represents the best option for the future development of the site while also delivering value for Rio Tinto as we continue to streamline our portfolio.

“Liberty House has a track record of investing in similar assets, which should secure a long-term sustainable future for Aluminium Dunkerque and continued economic benefit for the wider community”.

Rio Tinto sustainable development partnership Rio Tinto has further strengthened its partnership with China’s Tsinghua University, extending the tenure of the TsinghuaRio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development.

Inalum growth plans Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, the country’s only aluminium producer, aims to double its aluminium production capacity to 500,000 tonnes per annum by 2020, and to one million tonnes by 2025. It further intends to take control of its supply chain thereby reducing dependence on imports of alumina. The projects in pipeline may cost the around US$3.5 billion.

Bauxite investments Guinea’s government has approved a more than $2.8 billion investment by Chinese company TBEA Co Ltd in a new bauxite mine, an aluminium refinery and an aluminium smelter.

ALFED appointment The Aluminium Federation, the trade body for the UK aluminium industry, has announced the appointment of a new chief executive.

Tom Jones joins the organisation from MMC Hardmetal UK, part of the Mitsubishi Materials group, where he was general manager. Tom has more than 35 years experience of working in manufacturing.

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4 INDUSTRY NEWS

Can recycling at 73% The overall recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans in Europe (EU 28 + EFTA) increased by 1.6% to a new record level of 72.9% in 20141.

European Aluminium considers this result an important milestone on its path towards the future split aluminium recycling target of 75% for 2025, proposed by the European Union in its Circular Economy package.

On the whole European continent (including other East-European countries, Russia and Turkey) nearly 30 billion cans have been recycled. This means that every second an aluminium beverage can is being recycled somewhere in Europe! Their metal stays in the European circular economy and remains available for the production of new aluminium products. Recycling aluminium takes 95% less energy than producing it from its raw materials. The recycling process also generates only 5% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

Maarten Labberton, Director of the European Aluminium Packaging Group, calls upon the EU Member States to make an extra effort to collect, sort and recycle more drink cans and other aluminium packaging items within the coming years. ‘’While we support the ambitious 75% target for aluminium packaging we strongly recommend that local authorities together with the waste management chain invest more in innovative sorting technologies. Fortunately, these investments will pay off quickly, due to the relatively high scrap value of aluminium’.’

Through its successful awareness programme with the can manufacturers, Every Can Counts, European Aluminium is continuously addressing the collection and recycling of so called “outof-home” cans; cans consumed at the workplace, at festivals or other outdoor events. In 2017 Poland and the Benelux countries joined Every Can Counts and more countries are expected to adopt this programme in the near future.

January/February 2018

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www.aluminiumtoday.com

Extrusion plant acquisition Hydro Extruded Solutions AS has agreed with Arconic to acquire its two extrusion plants in Brazil.

The agreement will strengthen Hydro’s downstream position in Brazil and create a solid platform for further growth.

“We believe in the integrated business model and Brazil is the country where Hydro’s entire value chain is present. From bauxite and alumina, via primary production to extruded solutions, this will strengthen our ability to serve our customers,” says President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg.

The two extrusion plants in Utinga and Tubarão in southern Brazil have combined more than 600

employees, 1 cast house, 7 presses ranging from 7 to 14 inches and value-added capabilities.

The transaction is in line with Hydro’s strategy of selected growth within its business area Extruded Solutions, and will further strengthen Hydro’s position in Brazil.

Under the terms of the agreement, the price includes a cash payment from Hydro of $10 million, subject to working capital and other adjustments.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approval from relevant competition authorities in Brazil, and is expected within the first half of 2018.

Can partnership Ball Corporation has collaborated with leading sparkling water brand PERRIER® to produce an exclusive, limited edition can for the French and Belgium markets.

The limited edition, titled Perrier X Wild, has seen a close collaboration between Ball and PERRIER to bring to life the colourful and vibrant designs created by rising Cuban artist, Juan Travieso.

Celebrating the wild style and natural character of the PERRIER

brand, the new limited edition explores the beauty of wildlife through Travieso’s unique vision, the vibrancy of which is rendered through Ball’s high definition printing techniques and capabilities. Perrier X Wild encompasses three different and distinctive designs to “embody nature in the heart of today’s urban jungle” (Juan Travieso, 2017) including an owl, gorilla and panther.

2018 DIARY March 11-15 TMS* Join your colleagues from nearly 70 nations at the meeting that the global minerals, metals, and materials community calls home.

Held in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. www.tms.org/TMS2018

19-20 Metals of the Future* A new conference exploring the long-term impact of green technology on metals supply and demand.

Held in London, UK. www.events.crugroup.com/ metalsinthefuture/home

22 Gulf Aluminium Council Dinner Held at the Shangria La, Muscat, Oman. Invite only event.

May 8-9 Future Aluminium Forum* What does industry 4.0 mean to the future of the aluminium industry and how can it assist in the quest for greater efficiencies?

Attend the Future Aluminium Forum to join this debate, hear from experts and network with solution providers and industry peers.

Held in Milan, Italy. www.futurealuminiumforum.com

June 5-7 HARBOR’s 11th Aluminum Outlook Summit Over 500 participants, representing more than 260 companies, meet to network, get industry knowledge and the latest aluminum market intelligence and outlook.

Held in Chicago, USA. www.harboraluminumsummit.com

*Pick up a free copy of Aluminium International Today at this event For a full listing visit www. aluminiumtoday.com and click on Events Diary Aluminium International Today

18/01/2018 08:26:33

ALUMINIUM Materials handling andɅliftingɅsystems

Storage systems

Centrifugal blowers

Ship loaders/unloaders

Bath and carbon recycling plant systems

Dense/solid phase and other conveyingǾsystems Potfeed e.g. HyperDense Phase SystemsǾ(HDPSTM) Dosing devices

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Pot process control systems Electrolysis handling equipment Carbon: rodding and anode handlingǾsystems; baking furnace liftingǾsolutions

2017-08-01 10:03 AM

6 PRIMARY Here is the challenge: Build electrolysis cells that produce aluminium with the world’s lowest energy consumption and the world’s lowest CO2 footprint while maintaining high quality and productivity as well as a low CAPEX. In short, that’s what Hydro’s technology pilot at Karmøy is aiming to do: Verify at an industrial scale the world’s most climate-and energy efficient aluminium technology.

Hydro’s new technology pilot: Breaking new ground in energy consumption More than a decade has passed since Hydro researchers and engineers started working on the next generation electrolysis technology. Today, 60 new electrolysis cells packed with Hydro’s HAL4e technology stand side-by-side at Hydro’s technology pilot in Karmøy, Norway. 48 cells will produce aluminium with an energy consumption of 12.3 kWh per kilo aluminium, significantly lower than world average and with CO2 footprint below 1.5 t CO2/t Al. The remaining 12 cells are equipped with HAL4e Ultra technology that brings the energy consumption down to industry benchmark at 11.5-11.8 kWh/kg.

The technology pilot consists of physical technology elements and an improved process control system. Many of these elements can be tailored for and used for existing aluminium plants too.

Taming the electromagnetic field The team at Hydro’s Primary Metal Technology often use the analogy of a racing car to explain the complexity of the cells. “We’ve developed a Formula One car which is so complex to drive that very few will manage, but now we’ve trained a number of drivers to manage this kind of car,” says Johannes Aalbu, Head of Hydro’s technology development, adding, “it’s like developing a new car model, except that you build both the car and the factory at the same time.”

Hans Erik Vatne, Hydro’s Chief Technology Officer, highlights the challenge of taming the electromagnetic fields. “What is unique about the January/February 2018

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technology pilot, is that we will produce 75,000 tonnes of high-quality primary aluminium annually, with low energy consumption and low emissions, in a limited amount of available space.

Placing compact electrolysis cells so closely together comes with huge challenges. When we send 450,000 hydropower-generated amperes through a cell, it creates strong electromagnetic fields that disturb the neighbouring cell.

We’ve now found the solutions that enable us to tame the forces created inside the cell, to achieve a stable metalbath interface which in turn means that we can reduce the energy consumption,” Vatne says.

“By developing a new control platform and introducing automation, we also have a highly precise and efficient aluminium production. We can perfectly manage heat-balance, add precise amounts of alumina and limit the amounts of energy waste to a bare minimum. We even use laser technology to monitor and limit emissions,” says Vatne.

Support from across Hydro and in external partners Hydro’s technology pilot is developed in-house, with contributions from the company’s research centers in Neuss in Germany, Porsgrunn and Årdal in Norway.

Program manager Asgeir Bardal, who Aluminium International Today

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Materials handling solutions for your industry

leads the work on the HAL4e technology, says the technology pilot is a company-wide team effort. “I’m very proud to be part of a team that is contributing to reducing emissions through the pilot’s record-low energy consumption in aluminium production.

We have seen that it works in a number of test cells, and now we’re set to verify this technology at an industrial scale,” Bardal says.

Hydro has also had strategic partners in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), SINTEF (independent research organisation), Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), The Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and ENOVA, a Norwegian government enterprise promoting energy efficiency.

In total, NOK 4.3 billion has been invested in the project – including NOK 1.6 billion from ENOVA. Hydro’s investment in the Karmøy technology pilot is the largest single investment in Norwegian mainland industry outside the oil and gas sector since Hydro expanded the Sunndal aluminium plant in 2002-2004. �

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• Improved storage utilisation • Safer product handling • Increased productivity • Indoor / Outdoor

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8 PRIMARY

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Increasing the energy efficiency of aluminium smelting Burner air preheating by means of a heat exchanger significantly reduces gas consumption.

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for a long time. However, since solutions with partly utopian characteristics and promises are offered on the market, an electrical preheating was initially installed.

This allows a very precise energy and thus also profitability balance of the measure.

The characteristic values obtained were used to design a burner air preheating from the exhaust gas stream of the smelting system. “With this version, the already heated exhaust gas flow is directed to a heat exchanger via a suitable pipe system,” continues Sauke.

System enables careful handling of gas The primary air side (hot gas side), which is prefixed to the heat exchanger, requires additional components: For example, a control unit that directs the exhaust gas flow to the heat exchanger according to the requirement, and additional measuring points that ensure safe process

management. In the event of failure of the heat exchanger or any of the components, the control unit must direct the exhaust flow through a bypass function, past the heat exchanger, directly into the secondary system to protect the heat exchanger and its components. In the heat exchanger, the energy is released to the secondary air side (burner air) - the cooled exhaust gas is discharged in the other system either directly into the atmosphere or for preheating the melting material in a corresponding chamber.

The burner air fan conveys cold burner air from the environment into the heat exchanger, which is heated in the ZPF smelting systems to about 200°C. The pipe system after the heat exchanger is insulated and equipped with appropriate butterfly valves, measuring instruments and displays. An air collector installed directly after the heat exchanger helps distribute the heated medium evenly across

Preheated air

exchanger

Cool air

Heat

Fan

Exhaust chimney

Gas

Burner

In 2016, the prototype of an optimised aluminium smelting system was realised as part of a Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi)funded cooperative project between the industrial and business communities. The EDUSAL II project makes it possible to determine the energy-saving potential of the smelting process while at the same time minimising the resulting smelting loss. In order to further reduce the consumption values of such a system and thus to increase both energy efficiency and resource conservation, the smelting furnace manufacturer, ZPF GmbH, has now extended its concept with additional components: By incorporating a socalled burner air preheating, in which the warm exhaust gas volume flow is passed through a pipe system to a heat exchanger, the system operator has more room for maneuver - with lower pollutant emissions and lower gas consumption.

This new system can – with appropriate adjustments - be used as a retrofit kit for existing ZPF melting systems.

“In last year’s project, numerous sustainable improvements, that have optimised the previous furnace system, were achieved,” says Sven-Olaf Sauke, head of R&D at ZPF. “The main focus was on the further development of the measurement technology to a sensory detection of the melting shaft, which means that in laboratory operation both the position of the residual material on the smelting link and its quantity can be precisely determined. In addition, a special evaluation algorithm has been developed that has improved the process to the point that an increase in smelting efficiency of up to 15 percent can be achieved.”

Another focus of the EDUSAL II system was the testing of burner air preheating.

The idea of integrating a burner air preheating, which efficiently uses the heat flow of the system, has been around

Exhaust

FURNACE Control valve

Preheating chamber

In burner air preheating by means of a heat exchanger, the warm exhaust gas volume flow is directed via a suitable pipe system to a heat exchanger. This saves efficiently on gas consumption. Source: ZPF GmbH

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This furnace is the electrical version - without heat exchanger. For cost reasons, however, the variant with heat exchanger is recommended. Source: ZPF GmbH

“Burner air preheating not only saves on operating and energy costs, it also makes it possible to use the valuable resource of gas sparingly. The efficiency of the entire system will be increased, and pollutant emissions will

”

decrease, explains Sven-Olaf Sauke, head of R&D at ZPF. Source: ZPF GmbH

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the piping to the entire burner system.

Thus, the flame temperature increases significantly, resulting in a higher energy input and lower gas consumption. “In this way, not only are operating and energy costs reduced, it also allows for a careful handling of the valuable resource of gas,” says Sauke. “The efficiency of the entire system is increased, and the pollutant emissions are reduced.” This heat exchanger variant is suitable for all ZPF gas-fired aluminum smelting and heating furnaces, which have a connected load of more than 300 kW and a high smelting ratio over the entire operating time of the furnace. However, the specified limit temperatures for the refractory lining of the kilns must be strictly adhered to.

Burner air preheating by means of heat exchanger as retrofit kit for existing melting systems The extension of the energy-efficient burner air preheating with an integrated heat exchanger can also be carried out with an existing smelting system, but requires some changes, according to Sauke: “When upgrading existing ZPF systems, in addition to the heat exchanger, a hot gas withdrawal point, suitable

piping and temperature-resistant control and butterfly valves must be integrated.

The adjustments with regard to the control as well as the user interface must also be observed. “All electrically operated components, for example the control valves and the measuring technology, are integrated in the control and in the control cabinet in order to simplify the operation of the system.

All modifications and retrofits of the system are done by ZPF directly at the customer’s premises - before this, a comprehensive inventory, consultative discussions and an in-depth conception will take place. In closing, Sauke explains: “The need for pipes, routes and insulation material must be calculated on a projectspecific basis. The advantage of the developed system lies in the fact that all components are installed directly at the plant and thus no further space requirement arises in the smelting system.

“In addition, ZPF is working intensively on further measures to improve the efficiency of the aluminium smelting systems. � Contact www.zpf-gmbh.de

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Mission accomplished: The last of the stored SPL at the Tomago Aluminium Smelter It was 18 years in the making, but for Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, an achievement last November sets a global industry benchmark.

Chris Canty* recently contacted Neil Roser** and Gordon Wilson*** to find out more about this achievement.

The problem Tomago Aluminium Co Pty Ltd (TAC), located just outside of Newcastle in the New South Wales’ Hunter Region, celebrated the removal of the last of their stored spent potlining (SPL) in November 2017. A hazardous waste which is toxic to both the environment and human health, it was a problem the 37-year-old company resolved to address back in 2000.

"For a while we basically built sheds to store the material,” Neil Roser, TAC’s Environmental Services Superintendent says. “Historically spent potlining has been a very difficult waste product to deal with for the aluminium industry. In the 1980’s many countries banned landfilling of spent potlining and this led to smelters accumulating the waste in large above ground storage sheds. We had a storage capacity of 34,000 tonnes.”

But even that was a stop gap measure for a company that now produces over a quarter of Australia’s primary aluminium.

With three potlines operating with AP22 smelting technology, and sharing a region with large population centres, world class vineyards and Pacific Ocean beaches, TAC

has always been acutely mindful of the environment.

“A lot of the smelters kept building sheds and building sheds,” he says. “We made a decision here to say 'look we can't keep building sheds, it doesn't make sense’.”

The inherent hazards, highly variable nature and complex chemistry of SPL has meant that developing viable and practical solutions to the SPL problem has proved to be difficult. The primary aluminium industry and its support industries invested significant effort in the research and development of SPL solutions with limited success. TAC considered a very wide range of approaches to dealing with SPL, yet typical drawbacks associated with methods of dealing with SPL were found to be: � Not all of the SPL can be processed (e.g. the carbon waste can be handled but not the refractory waste or vice versa) � There were residual waste materials without ready disposal options other than landfill � Lack of a genuine economic value to generate market demand for the output of the SPL treatment processes

� Sustainability of end-use demand for recycled SPL material (off-take) threatened by reliance on a single end-use off-take for SPL derived materials or a very few offtakes � Exposure to change in regulation or re-interpretation and enforcement of regulation � unknown fate of the fluoride and other toxic residual materials when disposed of by other parties � Approaches that do not chemically transform the SPL into benign substances present an ongoing risk of liability for toxic materials being traced back to the source aluminium smelter.

The solution Enter Regain in 2001, with innovative technology and a concept for the safe and economic transformation of smelter waste materials. TAC was attracted to Regain’s Industrial Ecology model of transforming waste into a valuable resource for another industry.

"Regain came into the picture and what they brought to us was mineral experience,” he says. “So they had

*Correspondent **Environmental Services Superintendent, TAC ***Procurement Manager, TAC January/February 2018

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Aluminium International Today

16/01/2018 16:00:08

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14 PRIMARY

Gordon Wilson and Neil Roser with Regain Managers Roy Elliott and Kevin Cooper at the Tomago Smelter

SPL in the Waste Management Hierarchy

different knowledge base and different context to what we did in aluminium."

The roadmap of the Regain/TAC partnership was challenging: � 100% beneficial use of SPL with no process residual materials or process residue � Sustainable end-use for the materials derived from SPL � Sustainable cost of SPL recycling � Positive impact on the environment The strategy for achieving these objectives was based on transforming the SPL into something valuable.

Firstly it involved developing a chemical process to eliminate cyanide and other hazards to the practicable extent, while refining the SPL to maximise the potential value of the chemicals and minerals in SPL. Secondly it required the establishment of a genuine and sustainable market demand for the products manufactured from refined SPL, based on the inherent value of the products, rather than paying end-users to dispose of waste materials.

Regain proved that the best market demand is in the energy-intensive and capital-intensive cement industry. It was found that fluorides in SPL are central to the Industrial Ecology (or circular economy) value proposition, enabling the increase in cement production for a given amount of energy and capital investment. These same fluorides represent a key part of the toxicity of SPL. Realising full value potential January/February 2018

Primary regain.indd 2

required significant scientific research and development of practical technology, to make best use of the sodium fluoride compounds available from SPL in cement making, which offered full elimination of the toxicity in a high-temperature and irreversible chemical process.

The results of the scientific research and market analysis showed that one quarter of cement clinker plants worldwide can make good use of SPL derived products.

Typically, these plants can beneficially consume 20kg of SPL derived product per tonne of cement production. With worldwide cement production in the order of four billion tonnes per year, it was determined that the cement industry could absorb more than 20 million tonnes of product per year compared with the 1.5 million tonnes of SPL produced annually by the primary aluminium smelting industry.

From 2012, the value in SPL derived products was recognised by cement makers in Asia and Latin America and a market for importing these products from smelters such as TAC is well established.

Goals reached After this significant scientific research and development of practical technology, Regain’s patented techniques enabled them to re-use the SPL in the cement industry and addressed the goals created within the partnership. SPL and similar aluminium smelting waste materials are rich in substances that have beneficial

energy saving and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction properties when used in cement manufacture. Regain knew now in a practical landscape, the products derived from refined SPL have genuine economic value in cement manufacture.

Importantly to their roadmap, all of the SPL derived products are consumed in a chemically irreversible process which includes the complete elimination of the toxicity that was with the SPL. “If we give them a tonne of spent pot liner, they can say 'well that can go into the cement kiln after it is treated and handled correctly', so from the time we hand it to them…to the end use, it’s getting absorbed in the process,” Mr Roser says. “It's so much sweeter when you can basically write off that liability you've inherited through aluminium making."

“We always knew that the SPL, even though it was classified as a hazardous waste, contained valuable raw materials if the solution could be found,” Mr Roser says. “The work that Regain has completed allows for the cement industry to benefit from the properties in SPL that we thought were beneficial. For TAC we have a solution that results in no residues remaining that could present an environment liability in the future.”

The impact Since 2001 TAC has disposed of 135,000 tonnes of SPL and similar waste material with Regain. It is a significant amount Aluminium International Today

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www.aluminiumtoday.com

according to Mr Roser.

“As the world becomes more carbon conscious it's better not to be wasting fuel,” Mr Roser says. "If the spent pot liner can be treated and go into cement kiln, then we are saving on energy and that makes sense.”

He continues that a landscape without Regain coming on board when it did, could have had repercussions for environment and the business.

“Before Regain, TAC’s management option for SPL was the export of the SPL waste to SPL processors in Europe,” he says. “The storage approach of the 1990’s resulted in many sites accumulating significant stocks of spent potlining. The big disadvantage of just using storage sheds to manage the issue is the financial liability remains with the company, under today’s environmental laws, the generator of the waste remains liable so you are better to just build it into the business cost structure.”

“What we like about Regain is the ‘cradle to grave’ type scenario,” he continues. “If it's all done right, you can basically write off that liability you've inherited through the process.”

The business But the environment is not the only winner here, according to Gordon Wilson, TAC’s Business Unit Leader of Procurement Manager. While the primary reason for their association with Regain was the environmental benefit, the commercial aspect certainly came into calculations.

“TAC has always taken a pro-active approach to managing our SPL, addressing it progressively rather than a stock-pile,” Mr Wilson says. “The work with Regain over many years has always been on the mutual understanding, that not only must the solution be environmentally viable, but it must also be commercially viable. TAC and Regain have worked in collaboration supporting each other’s needs during the developmental stages, which has resulted in us being able to deliver on both of these elements, culminating in the recent five year contract that was awarded.”

Mr Roser also agrees that Regain’s Industrial Ecology model is ideally suited to today’s business drivers for costsavings.

"If you asked a company what the value of that was in the 80s, probably not, but as prices of electricity and fuels go up,

that value is there,” he says. “If Regain can present that to their (clients), without them having to do too much work, that's the advantage.”

Conclusion It is clear, that Regain’s SPL approach adopted by TAC delivers the highest practical outcome according to the waste management hierarchy. The comparative advantage and environmental sustainability is shown by ranking it with other options.

Through direct and constructive engagement on all aspects of dealing with SPL, TAC enabled Regain to actively improve the overall system for dealing with SPL and to reduce costs.

Progressive cost reductions have been realised by TAC as it takes advantage of the improvement initiatives with Regain, benefits accruing from the technology learning curve, economies of scale and revenues from the sale of refined products.

TAC has achieved a sustainable and economic solution for the SPL issue that comprehensively and completely eliminates the liabilities and risks around SPL. �

8

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Aluminium International Today

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January/February 2018

16/01/2018 16:00:15

16 MINING & REFINING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Mining their own business

Back in 2015, Aluminium International Today explored the rising demand for bauxite and the opening of a new mining project in Guinea. As aluminium plays a bigger role in the modern world, this demand for bauxite is expected to continue. Nadine Bloxsome* spoke to Bernard Pryor** of Alufer Mining, which is developing the Bel Air mine to find out what stage the project is now at and the focus going forward.

In December 2017, it was announced that Alufer Mining Ltd had signed a bauxite transport contract with TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K .Lines Ltd and they also put out a construction update. This was the first news from Alufer to cross my desk since an initial interview with the then CEO back in March/April 2015 and it seems the reason for this is because the company has been busy building a new team and moving ahead with the construction of the mine, which is planned for completion in Q3 2018.

Located 15km from the coast near the Cap Verga peninsula, the mine is 120km

north of Guinea’s capital, Conakry and has a JORC compliant resource of over 146mt of trihydrate bauxite with low reactive silica.

“We are very proud to have raised the US$205 million needed to fund the Bel Air project in Guinea, which is a relatively new investment country,” says Bernard. “Alufer is a rare entity, having discovered the deposit by drilling it from scratch, putting together a feasibility study, financing it and now building it,” he continues. “I think it is quite unique to discover a greenfield site and take it all the way through to production. It is a great achievement,

especially for the founding shareholders who have supported the project from the outset.”

Construction The construction of the bauxite mine commenced in January 2017, after the company received all required permissions from the government of Guinea with regard to building the site in Bel Air. “We are on target for first ore on ship in Q3 2018, so this is a rapid construction time,” says Bernard. “One of our main contractors has stated that this is the fastest project they have ever worked on.

*Editor, Aluminium International Today **CEO, Alufer Mining January/February 2018

mining alufer SPREAD.indd 1

Aluminium International Today

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www.aluminiumtoday.com

We are proud of this progress and we are working very efficiently.”

The team has grown rapidly from 30 to around 1300 over the past 10 months and the completion of the foundations of a new 1400m causeway into the Atlantic Ocean is a recent achievement.

Sustainability and safety When undertaking a project such as this there are environmental and social impacts which require management and close monitoring and Alufer is adopting the IFC environmental and social performance standards, along with the Equator principles as best practice for the Bel Air project.

“We have worked to secure good relationships with the Government and the local communities,” says Bernard.

“We have a team dedicated to community liaison and we are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on community projects within our concession area. We are also committed to employing as many Aluminium International Today

mining alufer SPREAD.indd 2

local people as possible - currently 86% of our workforce is Guinean and we are looking to continue to increase this figure going forward.”

The company is also very proud that it is currently Lost Time Injury free, with more than two million man hours accounted for.

“Safety is our top priority and this is a real credit to the team on site,” says Bernard.

Production The initial targeted production is five million dry tonnes of bauxite, which is high quality with regards to its alumina and impurities content.

“We also have the ability to expand and with excess capacity at the port available, this will allow us to sell more bauxite into the market,” says Bernard.

China is naturally the main market for Bel Air’s product, but Alufer will also be looking at customers across North America, Europe, the Middle East and India.

Demand “I don’t see any challenges to the demand for bauxite,” says Bernard. “I think this will continue to increase as the world moves towards more efficient machinery, with lighter, stronger structures and aluminium is the way to go.” � January/February 2018

16/01/2018 16:03:24

Esecutivi_A3_with Scorecard_2017_07_18_A3 esecutivi 27/12/17 15:52 Pagina 32

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DANIELI ALUMINIUM COLD ROLLING ROLLING MILL MILL TECHNOLOGY FOR ADVANCED STRIP AND FOIL PRODUCTION

Danieli’s 4 and 6-high DiamondFlex mills for strip and foil production incorporate the best mechanical and automation solutions to deal with the specific challenges of high-productivity aluminium rolling. As of March 2016 Fata Hunter is part of the Danieli Team.

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ALERIS DUFFEL BELGIUM Complete cold rolling plant featuring a 6-high Diamond mill designed for EDT rolling for specific automotive applications.

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OARC - OMAN ALUMINIUM ROLLING COMPANY OMAN World-class 4-high cold rolling mill for 390 and 1050x2150 mm Al light gauge.

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20 SPANISH FOCUS:

Aludium’s mills in Amorebieta and Alicante have a long history, can you tell us a little about them?

Manual Ruano (MR): Alicante was founded in 1955 and began producing aluminium in 1961, the same year that Amorebieta was founded as the first aluminium mill in the Basque Country.

In 1975, the Cindal R&D Centre was established in Alicante and is now one of the most experienced company-owned centres of aluminium expertise.

Since 1 January 2015 we have been a part of Aludium, along with our third mill in Castelsarrasin (France). We are very happy that Atlas Holdings believed in us and that we could update this industrial business to 21st century standards with their help.

It’s been an amazing transition since we became Aludium. Both investments and employment have been growing. We now have more than 800 employees in Spain, with another 100 in Castelsarrasin and our sales offices. Employment is likely to increase further as we realise investments such as the multi-chamber furnace we recently approved for Amorebieta. This will inject €20 million into the economy over two years as we build the new facility, and lead to additional long-term employment in the region.

Together, Aludium’s three plants and our Cindal R&D centre form a tightly integrated, high-technology system.

Amorebieta melts the metal and provides hot rolling, while Alicante operates both cold rolling and bright mills. In Castelsarrasin in France we produce the highest level of bright material available on the market today. Internal scrap from all three mills as well as scrap from customers goes back to Amorebieta for melting, providing a closed loop.

ALUDIUM

Building an agile organisation with a global presence Aludium might be a relatively new name in the Spanish aluminium sector, but the assets in Alicante and Amorebieta, which are the backbone of the company, go back over 50 years.

Aluminium International Today spoke with Manuel Ruano, COO; Antonio Quereda, R&D Manager; Alberto Ruiz, Plant Manager Alicante; and Pedro Escudero, Plant Manager Amorebieta to find out more.

Where are your main markets?

MR: Aludium produces in Spain, but we export our material globally. Aludium’s main markets are here in Europe – Spain of course, but also Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Benelux countries. But our speciality products, such as our bright material and Decorandum®, go all over the world. We have a sales office in Asia and an exclusive distributor in the United States, so we’re very active in the export market.

What are Aludium’s core markets in Spain?

Alberto Ruiz (AR): For Alicante, a key market is cosmetic packaging. Some of the world leaders in this sector are Spanish, and Aludium is a strategic partner for these players. Products from January/February 2018

spanish aludium.indd 1

With an almost full range of melting technologies, Aludium Amorebieta is at the heart of the company’s operations

Aluminium International Today

17/01/2018 08:30:35

SPANISH FOCUS: ALUDIUM

21 5

performance in terms of stability, weight, and insulation.

Alicante operates one of the bright mills in the Aludium network

our bright mill in Alicante are in high demand from the sector. We’ve built up a lot of experience with them and they know we understand their products and what they are trying to achieve.

Antonio Quereda (AQ): Another major market is closures for bottles containing olive oil, wine, and spirits. Producers of these products need unique closures to make their products stand out. Cindal is working with these companies to coengineer both surfaces and formability.

This allows Aludium’s customers to manufacture extreme and complex deepdrawn applications. Not only do we know how to make the perfect alloy and temper for each application, we also pass on our knowledge to our customers.

Cindal is regularly challenged by our customers to come up with new products that answer specific problems. ISODecorandum® is one such example. It’s a product with an exceptional surface which facilitates deep drawing and supports lacquer adhesion.

Sometimes we help them to optimise

their production processes. We suggest an alternative alloy or temper, or even develop a specific alloy for their application. We do whatever it takes to ensure they can achieve optimum production and quality in their processes.

I believe you are also active in the building and construction sector?

Pedro Escudero (PE): We supply aluminium to some of Europe’s largest coil coaters. They lacquer and finish our aluminium to the requirements of their customers, typically construction companies that are using this material for the wall cladding of large office buildings, airports, shopping malls, and even residential buildings. We are very proud to say that the spectacular Ferrari World building in Abu Dhabi was finished with our aluminium.

One important player is based here in Spain. The company has five factories on four continents, and sells their products in more than 60 countries worldwide.

Our aluminium is used in their wall cladding panels which have exceptional

Many aluminium producers are focussing on automotive and aviation, is Aludium involved in these areas?

MR: When Aludium was formed, we made a deliberate decision to stay out of aviation, and to focus on non-structural applications in automotive. That means we don’t produce alloys for body-inwhite applications. But we do produce a range of materials which can still help to lightweight today’s vehicles.

We are supplying aluminium to companies that make components for Tier-1 and Tier-2 manufacturers. Our aluminium is found in a wide range of small, formed components that are used to build complete seating structures, brake systems, door components, and fuel tanks.

Automotive trim is another market we focus on. Did you know that our highbright aluminium is used in the marque badges of most European cars? And with our ‘direct from the mill’ products such as Decorandum® and Texturandum® we are convinced that we have the next generation of decorative aluminium products for this sector.

With our extensive metallurgical expertise – and our partners – we are also involved in the development of innovative, multi-material parts. These new products will combine the strength, finish, or lightweighting properties of aluminium with other materials such as plastics to create light and durable parts for mobility applications.

Aludium Alicante includes a number of finishing lines and mills, and is also home to the Cindal R&D centre

Aluminium International Today

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January/February 2018

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can use it as soon as it comes out of the mill, or tailor it further by anodising, clear coating, or printing over it.

The hot mill at Aludium Amorebieta is an integral part of our operations

ALUDIUM IN SPAIN �

� � �

Plants in Alicante and Amorebieta (plus one in Castelsarrasin, France) Cindal R&D Centre in Alicante > 900 employees 300,000 tonnes capacity > €500 million annual turnover

AQ: We’re also a member of the Basque Automotive Cluster known as ACICAE. The automotive industry in the region generates an estimated €10 billion annually – it’s a real powerhouse of the economy and the automotive industry. ACICAE aims to improve the expertise and competitiveness Basque businesses in the automotive sector.

By teaming up with local partners in this sector, we can help them, and Aludium, to become successful suppliers to the automotive industry in Spain.

How important is sustainability to Aludium’s business?

AQ: Sustainability has been a focus for Aludium since the first day. We are a member of ARPAL, an organisation which promotes the recycling of aluminium, particular consumer goods, in Spain. They organise workshops and events to make children aware of the recycling potential of aluminium. We’re supporting them because we understand the importance of recycling to our business – we couldn’t survive without recycled material.

We’ve also made significant investments to increase our own recycling capabilities.

Our rotary furnace, which came onstream in Amorebieta during 2016, is able to melt painted or lacquered scrap, increasing the types of aluminium we can take.

Our experience with the rotary furnace showed us that there was more we could do, and in October 2017 the board approved a €20 million investment in a new multi-chambered furnace. When it comes into full production in 2019, the multi-chamber furnace will enable us to January/February 2018

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recycle up to 55,000 tonnes of painted or thin scrap annually.

The new furnace, together with other investments, will increase Aludium’s sustainability as it reduces our need for primary aluminium metal by around 75,000 tonnes each year. Compared to primary metal production, recycling aluminium reduces energy consumption by 95% or 14 megawatt hours (MWh) per tonne of aluminium. With this project Aludium will reduce our CO2 emissions by 250,000 tonnes annually.

How important is the Cindal R&D centre for Aludium?

AQ: Cindal makes a huge difference to our customers. We have over 50 years of experience working with aluminium – both on the alloy and processing. That has enabled the Cindal team to develop some innovative products right here in Spain. Decorandum® for example. It’s the lightweight alternative to stainless steel.

It’s in high demand from our automotive trim and building and construction customers as it eliminates steps such as hand brushing.

We’ve taken that ‘direct from the mill’ approach one step further with Texturandum®. We can recreate any repeating pattern on the surface when we roll the aluminium. This is truly unique in the aluminium world. It avoids a lot of costly after-processing.

Customers can now order material which comes with their logo, or another pattern such as elephant skin or carbon fibre – the possibilities are endless. They

What about customer service? Is it important for an industrial business such as Aludium?

MR: Keeping the customer at the centre of our thinking is critically important for Aludium. It’s how we can highlight the difference between Aludium and our competition every time we interact with them.

We train our employees to provide exceptional reactivity to customer questions. When a customer calls, the person who answers the phone should be the one to provide the answer. They might need to investigate and talk to the experts, but they should be able to explain the answer to the customer. That way they learn, so the next customer to call with the same question will get the same answer – but faster.

Exceptional reactivity is possible for Aludium because we are not a big multinational with a complex hierarchy.

We have very short decision lines. Manuel and Arnaud are involved in the business on a daily basis – every day. And our Cindal team are just a phone call away for technical issues.

Because we have this close link with our customers, we know what they need. We have a short lead-time concept which is adapted to logistics and supplychain needs of our customers. It’s flexible because we know our customers. And we know our customers because of our people. They make the difference.

Where is the future of Aludium?

MR: The world is changing fast so that’s a question we are constantly asking ourselves. One way we are trying to get a handle on that is by looking to the next generation for inspiration. On the mobility side, Aludium has decided to sponsor the Formula-E team from the University of Bilbao and we are also supporting some very bright students from the University of Valencia who are preparing a module for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop project. These are very different types of mobility – but our involvement with these students helps us to keep in touch with future innovations.

We’re also inviting these students into our plants so that they can get an understanding of the potential aluminium has for the future. The new alloy handbook that we are preparing will help them to understand the different alloys and surface treatments available so they can make intelligent material choices. We really believe young people are the future – not just for the world, but for Aludium also. � Aluminium International Today

17/01/2018 08:30:53

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EXTRUSION 25 5

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The shape of things to come Twelve months ago, Corby-based Aluminium Shapes was acquired by a consortium which included investment from Anglo European Group, Martin Cooke and Joe Martoccia who was also appointed as CEO. At the time, there was a lot of speculation amongst the aluminium community about the acquisition and how ‘Shapes’ would move forward under new ownership. Nadine Bloxsome* met with Joe Martoccia** (pictured) and Simon Rawlinson*** to hear first hand about the last 12 months, but critically what the future holds for Aluminium Shapes, its people and its customers.

Joe, you’re new to aluminium, what attracted you to lead the acquisition of Aluminium Shapes?

I’d been trying to find a suitable acquisition opportunity for several months and Aluminium Shapes came across my desk. You’re quite right in that prior to February 2017 aluminium was not a world I was familiar with but I’ve spent over 30 years working at board level in global manufacturing businesses, so yes, aluminium is a new material, but manufacturing is all I know. My experience in the last 15 years has been focused on taking businesses, which have traditionally been very successful, and taking them to the next phase of growth.

I saw that potential in Aluminium Shapes, essentially a business with good people, clear values and a good product. But vast untapped potential.

When I visited Aluminium Shapes I met a lot of new people that had recently joined the business, Simon and yourself included. I sense that getting the structure and the right people in place is key to your strategic ambition?

You’ve hit the nail on the head Nadine.

Prior to acquisition, Aluminium Shapes was, if you’ll excuse the pun, in good shape. But as I’ve alluded to in my previous response, to take the business to the next level, we needed to invest in the team and bring in some new skills.

This has taken time. If you talk to anybody that’s worked with me previously they’ll hopefully tell you that my drive and commitment comes from a people place, you can have the best equipment in the world, but in reality customers recognise that it’s the team member on the end of the phone at Aluminium Shapes that will make a difference to their project.

It’s that core value that really stood out for me when I got under the skin of the acquisition opportunity, if the people in the business are committed then we can make anything happen. And we are.

Simon, much like Joe you’re new to aluminium. Do you share Joe’s ethos?

One hundred per cent. One of the critical outcomes for 2017 was upskilling the operations team and bringing in some new skills. We appointed a QHSE manager and a Continuous Improvement Manager as well as making other significant changes to the operations structure. As Joe said, Aluminium Shapes is a successful business but to get to the next level we need to invest, not only in the physical plant and machinery, which I’ll expand on, but in the skills required to deliver sustainable growth.

Tell me about the machinery investment. How will this improve the customer experience?

Under the previous ownership there was no real investment in machinery for well over a decade. We very quickly recognised that there was a huge onus on physical manpower to make things work efficiently, when in reality it’s the machinery that should take the strain.

In part, our investment in a new billet heating and sawing line, is as much about demonstrating our commitment to the Aluminium Shapes team as it is about improving our product efficiency for customers. In reality, many extrusion businesses still rely on old machinery, but we want to make Aluminium Shapes the best wholly UK-owned extrusion business for our customers and our people.

*Editor, Aluminium International Today **CEO ***Group Operations Director Aluminium International Today

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January/February 2018

18/01/2018 12:02:09

26 EXTRUSION

What other investments are you likely to be making in 2018?

Our immediate priority is to get the new heating and sawing line working efficiently. There will be a significant increase in capacity from this investment, so the prospect of even more British manufactured extrusions and components to satisfy the growing demand for aluminium products in the UK. Another major upside for 2018 is to enable our talented new team to do its job.

Matthew Spurling (QHSE Manager) and Dale Johnson (Continuous Improvement Manager) are significant appointments sending a very clear message that we take quality and health & safety very seriously, we see this function as fundamental to the successful growth of Aluminium Shapes in 2018 and beyond.

Back to you Joe. Let’s talk about the customer base. What do you see as the challenge and the opportunity?

Acquisitions can be unsettling not only for employees but for customers too, I recognise that, I’ve been involved in a number of acquisitions, it is important to gauge the impact of acquisition both internally and externally, too many

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companies concentrate solely on internal changes, often forgetting impacts on customers. I spent a significant amount of time on the road in 2017 meeting customers, understanding their businesses and getting invaluable feedback upon which we have based our transition, I will continue to do so in 2018. Meeting customers and sharing our business plans has been a critical process. As you mentioned at the start, I’m new to aluminium so it’s important that I spend time on the ground and customers get to know me and our new values. I hope if you spoke to any one of our customers you’d get a positive response. Under our ownership it’s still the same trusted and responsive Aluminium Shapes but we’ve dramatically improved the infrastructure, we’re continually investing in our team and our skills and we’ve also got a clear vision of what our future looks like, something the business has lacked for several years.

The opportunity for 2018 is to see the operational improvements Simon and the team can bring and the impact this will have on improving customer service.

We’ve now got real strength and depth in the commercial function, we’re still very much about customer-first, being able to

do things quickly is one of the key reasons people do business with us, but now we have some real sector expertise under the leadership of our Sales Director, Spencer Melia, the sales team are both motivated and equipped to deliver a real, partnerled approach to sales and fabrication, something I’m passionate about.

What can we expect from Aluminium Shapes next?

We’ve got some exciting product development plans in the pipeline which I’ll be happy to share with you later in the year and I’m keen to see the new sales team deliver the business development strategy. Operationally, where we are today compared to where the business was back in February 2017 is like night and day, it’s been quite a journey to date, but we still have a way to go.

On a personal level, it’s a privilege to lead such a talented team on such an exciting journey, whilst my time in the industry has been short, I feel very much at home.

The industry is everything I believed it would be, dynamic, full of opportunity and importantly - significant growth opportunities. �

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28 EXTRUSION

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Hot metal gas forming of aluminium: An impactful process Hot metal gas forming is a manufacturing process that can help carmakers design lighter and safer cars with extruded aluminium, because the process provides design freedom to engineers. This design freedom also makes the technology interesting for product designers in other market segments.

That said, the process is one which is difficult to master.

Hot metal gas forming (HMGF) bears similarities to superplastic forming, blow forming and hydroforming. You could consider it an evolution, an improvement upon these processes, at least when it comes to aluminium.

The process sounds simple: You heat an extruded aluminium tube in a furnace or by induction to the desired temperature.

Next, you place the tube in a forming tool, which has also been heated to a well-controlled and high temperature.

Then you close the tool. You begin filling the shape with high internal gas or air pressure (no safety gases are needed) and January/February 2018

Extrusion Hydro.indd 1

begin the forming process. The tools and the metal are heated, not the gas.

Hot metal gas forming is not a core process in Hydro. It is a new process. “It is a forming technology that is a new way of forming,” says Ole Daaland, who is responsible for innovation and technology for Hydro’s aluminium extrusion organization.

Innovative metal forming technique In 1999, three engineers – Bill Dykstra, George D. Pfaffmann and Xin Wu – delivered a technical paper to the Society of Automotive Engineers about hot metal

gas forming.

The trio wrote about “an innovative metal forming technique with the potential to leapfrog conventional metal forming techniques of structural steel components for the automotive and aerospace industry.

HMGF is an outgrowth of superplastic forming and hot blow forming techniques that the aerospace industry developed to form aluminum and titanium structures.”

The authors singled out the automotive and aerospace industries, but added that the forming technique could be used in other industries, too.

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30

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that make them valuable for customers?

Hydro’s competence as an extruder has been built largely through its access to production of the metal aluminium.

And as an extruder that develops and manufactures lightweight solutions based on aluminium, to all industries, the company can tweak design and alloys and then test them, to solve issues.

The science is in the forming tools, the material, and the simulation.

Hydro’s first major serial production project using the HMGF process illustrates the science.

is that you can use HMGF for whatever market that uses aluminium profiles.

Carmakers use extruded aluminium to make their cars lighter and safer.

Furniture manufacturers use profiles in creative ways for strength and shape. Construction engineers like extrusions because they last and they require little maintenance.

All can benefit from the design freedom provided by the hot metal gas forming process.

Replacing multiple parts with one There are few examples of aluminium components manufactured with the hot metal gas forming process.

Today, a well-known manufacturer of first-class sports cars is producing models which use structural parts made from extruded aluminium that has been through the hot metal gas forming process. The components replace systems previously made with several parts, and are saving weight.

“There is big value in replacing multiple parts with one part. And in most cases, you get a stiffer and stronger solution than what you had before. Another point is that in addition to replacing multiple parts, you might also be replacing a process,” says research engineer Conny Falk.

HMGF can also solve higher visual demands from customers, and enables suppliers to form high-strength aluminium alloys in better ways.

“The key advantage of hot metal gas forming is that it gives you freedom in the design of components. As a result, we see that in general, hot forming of aluminium will accelerate.”

Falk works in Hydro’s innovation and technology department. He has spent much of the past 10 years focusing on January/February 2018

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the HMGF process. Both he and a small group of colleagues have been spending the time understanding and evaluating and investigating and prototyping and most of all testing.

Making sure that the process works and making sure that it works in series production.

“Hot metal gas forming gives one the ability to add features, not remove them.

You can add functions. It makes complex shapes possible and readily available,” he says.

“Some might try to compare this process to hydroforming, but there is a big difference from hydroforming.

You can say that hydroforming is a pressure-and-time process.

HMGF adds temperature into the equation.

And at high temperatures, aluminium outperforms steel in formability. In fact, it isn’t really comparable. Aluminium is a lot better at high temperatures than steel.”

Valuable for customers Hydro Extruded Solutions began its HMGF project in 2006, when the company was known as Sapa. Throughout the process, the focus was on feasibility. Could the company use the process to manufacture products repeatedly and with the benefits

Adjustments to process steps Hydro’s objective has been to develop and remove all wrinkles with the process, the material and the surface treatment of the aluminium, to make sure that the company could achieve consistency and repeatability in production using HMGF. As an example, when the company began preparing to manufacture its first series-production automotive component, its initial scrap rate was around 90 percent. Process improvements brought this down to 50 percent.

Further adjustments to the microstructure of the metal brought the scrap rate down to 5 percent. Today, most of the scrap is the result of handling, not from production. The company is producing repeatable parts. Deviations can now be pinpointed.

Simulation a critical process step One of the most critical factors in Hydro’s step from idea to production has been simulation. It has been vital to have simulation capabilities to see whether production would even be possible. This requires time, but it saves money, because forming tools are expensive, also for the HMGF process.

Simulating the forming result.

Simulating friction. Simulating variations in friction. Tailoring different softwares.

Hot tensile tests. Test tools. Mathematical models, material models, verification.

Creep of the material. Stretching. “When we began, we simply needed to find out whether we could form the core without cracking,” says research engineer Björn Olsson.

“Then we began with simple geometries to see what was possible to achieve. We have developed models – simulation models – that are unique. And we moved forward from there.”

Virtually all the testing has taken place in Finspång, Sweden.

Tweaking and tribology In its work with the HMGF process, Hydro is using for forming tools the materials that it knows, but in a new way, with Aluminium International Today

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32 EXTRUSION

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a mix of ceramics. The construction of these tools requires highly competent toolmakers.

Because here is another challenge with HMGF: The tools grow up to 0.7 percent with the rise in temperature. And when the finished parts cool down, they shrink up to 1.4 percent, and need to meet the right tolerances – the metal part of the equation.

When it comes to the actual aluminium alloys, Hydro says it is trying to use as much standard material as possible, primarily 6xxx-series alloys. That is due to the fact they work well with regard to formability, corrosion, and other potential issues.

The company identified the type of microstructure it wanted the metal billets to have, through simulations but mainly through experience. Microstructure is affected by chemical composition of the billets, the casting process, heat treatments, extrusion die design and the extrusion process. It requires full understanding.

Falk also calls tribology an important part of the process. According to Wikipedia, tribology covers “the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion ... includes the study and

application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear.”

Tribology is important for hot metal gas forming because manufacturers need low friction and low wear at very high temperatures.

Time savings and better-looking parts The superplastic forming of aluminium sheets is a process that that takes a considerable amount of time. It can take from 30 minutes to two hours. Forming with HMGF occurs in seconds. In forming time, from two seconds to a minute.

Once finished, the product is brought to a quench table where it is cooled either by water or air, depending on the alloy.

Another benefit of the process is aesthetics, because products manufactured with HMGF look better than the ones they replace. This makes sense. When you replace components and the joints between them, the new products provide a seamless look.

An automotive roof rail could serve as an example.

Today, roof rails tend to be delivered in parts made from different materials – plastic and aluminium, for instance

Molten Metal Level Control

– that have different colors. They are joined in some way. Using HMGF as a manufacturing process, suppliers could deliver value to carmakers by supplying a complex, one-piece component in shiny aluminium. It gives another visual look and the smooth feel of metal.

HMGF not for everybody “As an extruder, our goals are to introduce new technologies so that we can deliver new types of components and solutions that are valuable to our customers,” says Rafael Fuertes, head of strategy and innovation for Hydro Extruded Solutions.

“We now have good know-how of hot forming, and we believe this is a step forward to becoming the preferred supplier in the industry.”

And now the company is seriesproducing automotive components using the HMGF process.

“We wouldn’t be able to produce the parts we are now producing with any other method than this one,” says Olsson. “There is too much deformation for hydroforming. It would have cracked.

Casting? No, it is not possible. And with welding, you would have had a crazy part.” �

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34 PROJECTS & PRODUCTS

The aluminium industry is constantly embarking on new projects and developing new products. In this regular feature, Aluminium International Today presents the latest announcements in these areas. If you’d like the opportunity to be considered for publication, please contact: nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com

Energy-efficient torque drives now also available for EIRICH mixers Permanent-magnet synchronous motors, which are also known as torque or high-torque motors, are rapidly becoming established as the standard solution for more and more applications – and now also in mixing technology.

Combined with a compact and space-saving design that only requires very little installation space, the high torque output of these drives enables energy-efficient solutions for challenging mixing tasks – for customers of EIRICH. For over ten years now, torque motors have also been the standard technology for large-scale mixers, which are used for the processing of ores and in sinter plants. The excellent energy efficiency, low maintenance requirements and long service life of the mixing tool drives have already inspired customers to convert older mixers to the new drive system.

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Molten metal treatment sodium and calcium removal Sodium and calcium have often been removed in the casthouse by the direct injection of chlorine gas to molten aluminium in the holding furnace.

Increased emphasis on HSE considerations have led to the adoption of alternative technologies at many smelters.

In a co-operative project between Rio Tinto Alcan and VHE an earlier Alcan process has been modified and further developed. The process uses aluminium fluoride (AlF3) as a flux, added directly into a vortex generated in the molten aluminium by a rotor. A test rig was designed, fabricated and erected by VHE at Rio Tinto Alcan Iceland’s Straumsvík smelter, ISAL. Experimental work demonstrated that very low sodium levels could be achieved.

Following successful completion of the development work, Rio Tinto Alcan specified a full-scale metal cleaning project to be built at ISAL, comprising four stations each equipped with twin rotor vortex generators and injecting aluminium fluoride with argon gas. All stations are fed from an elevated silo using a dense flow system. Gaseous discharges are vented to the existing dry scrubbers.

VHE has subsequently designed and installed a similar system at another smelter in Europe.

Partnership announced STAS has announced a new commercialisation partnership with HENCON, a world-wide supplier of Mobile Equipment for the heavy industries.

As of now, STAS becomes an exclusive agent for HENCON products for Canada.

STAS will ensure the promotion and sales of the HENCON delivery program of mobile and stationary equipment, including related spare parts and services.

For Canadian customers, this partnership ensures compliance with Canadian standards such as CSA while our geographic proximity guarantees a better service.

Gradall introduces Series V metal mill maintenance machines Gradall Industries, Inc., has introduced a collection of new, highly productive maintenance machines designed to handle a wide range of jobs in dirty, hot, extreme metal mill environments.

New Series V models feature a Tier 4-Final complaint Volvo Penta diesel engine, meeting the highest global standards including the demanding Stage IV (EU) and Tier 4 Final (U.S.) emission requirements.

In addition, the engine helps power an improvement in fuel efficiency by up to 5 percent.

January/February 2018

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36 SUSTAINABILITY

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Progress through partnership:

Creating sustainable value through customer collaboration

By Jessica Sanderson* Driving progress and making a significant impact requires collaboration. This is especially true regarding corporate sustainability efforts. While individual companies can often make an impact on their own, that impact can be amplified significantly through partnerships with customers and other stakeholders.

As the world leader in rolled aluminium products and aluminium recycling, Novelis understands the power of collaboration first hand and is making progress with automakers who are adopting more lightweight, infinitely recyclable aluminium.

Driving sustainability with EVs and recycling The automotive industry is a key industry of growth and potential for aluminium and Novelis. The rapid urbanisation taking place throughout the globe highlights new needs and opportunities in infrastructure and transportation. As the energy market shifts to a more sustainable, cleaner and environmentally friendly manufacturing model, electric vehicles (EVs) are emerging as the solution to help the automotive industry meet governments’ stricter fuel economy standards, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve natural resources.

Given the lightweighting attributes of aluminium, it is an ideal material for EV applications as lighter weight vehicles can travel longer distances on a single battery charge. In 2017, Novelis reached an agreement to provide innovative aluminium solutions to next-generation car company, NIO, for its fleet of smart, high-performance, premium electric vehicles. The partnership marks Novelis’ first major commitment in the premium electric vehicle space and reinforces the

Ford recycles and reuses more than 90% of the scrap generated during the stamping process - enough to produce 30,000 additional F-150 truck bodies each month.

sustainable value aluminium brings to the EV market.

But the benefits don’t stop at EVs. The sustainable value of aluminium spans across all vehicle types. Through closedloop recycling, a process that recycles excess aluminium and puts it back into the same product, Novelis is helping its customers maximize resources and meet environmental goals. Closing the loop preserves the value of the alloy, reduces transportation costs, minimises environmental impact and establishes a secure supply chain.

In 2017, the aluminium sheet provider reclaimed roughly 50,000 tons of aluminium scrap in partnership with sustainability-driven automaker Jaguar Land Rover - which is equivalent to 200,000 Jaguar XE body shells - preventing 500,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

And in partnership with Ford Motor Company, 90 percent of its scrap aluminium was collected and recycled during production of the F-150 pick-up truck.

Sustainability in the new world of mobility As mobility trends shift and consumers embrace ride-sharing and eventually the arrival of autonomous vehicles, Novelis is also partnering with traditional and startup automakers to identify sustainable solutions to new mobility challenges.

Historically, most cars are only driven five percent of the time they exist and remain idle 95 percent. However, as ridesharing continues to gain popularity and autonomous vehicles emerge as new mobility solutions, the time of use may leap to 70 percent. The significant increase in time on the road will impact how vehicles are produced, maintained and ultimately retired – underscoring the importance of aluminium as it creates lighter weight cars and can be infinitely recycled.

To help automakers make more informed decisions about the full lifecycle impacts of material choices, Novelis collaborates with the industry to produce high-quality lifecycle data. This data is then used to conduct Lifecycle Assessments (LCA), which is a process that enables automakers

*Director of Sustainability, Novelis Inc January/February 2018

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SUSTAINABILITY 37 5

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to address environmental effects across the whole life of a product – from production to retirement. For example, a leader in this space, Jaguar Land Rover, used LCA to confirm the benefits of using aluminium to reduce the carbon footprint of the 2013 Range Rover. The use of aluminium lowered the vehicle’s body mass by 420 kilograms, which combined with improved aerodynamics, resulted in a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions by 320kg of CO2.1 As mobility pushes manufacturers to adopt more sustainable methods, positive outcomes are likely to follow.

Post-consumer automotive recycling presents an opportunity to collaborate with automakers and their suppliers to bring more aluminium scrap back in to the system and further reduce the impact on the environment.

Reaching sustainable bbjectives In addition to creating partnerships with its customers to create more sustainable solutions, Novelis is continuing to make strong progress against its objectives

DELACQUERING

Jaguar Land Rover r eclaimed 50,000 tons of aluminium scrap, which is equivalent to 200,000 Jaguar XE body shells that ultimately prevented 500,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

as reported in its fiscal year 2017 Sustainability Report. By leveraging the technical expertise of its employees across 24 facilities in 10 countries, Novelis increased its use of high-recycled metal content inputs from 53 percent to 55 percent year-over-year. This significantly reduces environmental impacts as recycling aluminium produces 95 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions and uses just five percent of the energy required to

TILTING & MELTING HOLDER

produce primary aluminium; it also reveals new material options for sustainabilityfocused automotive manufacturers.

By entrenching sustainability at the core of its business, leveraging its deep industry knowledge and working closely with its customers, Novelis is not only achieving its sustainability goals, but also driving continued sustainable progress for its customers and communities in which it operates. �

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38 AUTOMOTIVE

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Electric vehicles and the potential for lightweight aluminium applications The last year has seen an acceleration in road vehicle electrification, driven by societal demands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (around 10% of global CO2 is from road transport) and improve local air quality (exhaust emissions are responsible for 30% of Beijing’s air pollution).

Electric vehicles (EVs) took centre stage at the 2017 International Motor Show, new registrations of EVs are at their highest ever (1 million sales worldwide) and countries are beginning to set ambitious targets to phase out the sale of combustion engine vehicles: Norway by 2025; India by 2030; France and UK by 2040 and China mandating 10-12% of output to be electric in 2019-2020).

In June 2017 the EV30@30 campaign set a collective goal for members of the Electric Vehicles Initiative - Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States - of a 30% market share for electric vehicles across all passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses and trucks by 2030.

Automakers are responding to regulatory and consumer pressure with significant investments in EV design. In addition to Tesla’s ambitious plans to increase their range of premium cars (and trucks), Jaguar Land Rover and MercedesBenz both plan to electrify their entire vehicle line-up by 2020-2022. Volvo is even more optimistic, with a 2019 date for electrification of its existing fleet and five new all-electric models brought to market from 2019 to 2021. The automaker hopes to sell one million new energy cars by 2025, a number equivalent to the total EV market worldwide in 2017. GM plans to roll out 20 new all-electric models by 2023, Ford is boosting investment and

willl have 40 all-electric and hybrids by 2022 and Volkswagen 80 by 2025.

The electric buzz at LME week in 2017 was centred around increasing demand for batteries and the metals – nickel, lithium and cobalt - required to satisfy it.

But the story of electrification is more than just batteries. Light-weighting is one of the strategies employed by automakers to reduce the tailpipe emissions of their fleets and to improve fuel consumption of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs).

It also has a key role to play in an electric future. And aluminium is at the forefront of the light-weighting revolution.

The latest (2017) study by Ducker Worldwide for The Aluminum Association predicts a 7% average mass reduction scenario for new North American light vehicles by 2028 (driven by fuel efficiency standards for ICEs), seeing the average aluminium content per vehicle rise from 397 lbs (180 kg) in 2015 to 565 lbs (256 kg). This would see the share of aluminium in the total vehicle weight increase from 10% to 16% over the same period and position aluminium as the fastest growing automotive material.

A recent study commissioned by the International Aluminium Institute and conducted by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu) outlines the potential energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) savings that such light-weighting can achieve, in both ICE and new energy vehicles. The study confirms previous

research by ifeu, the US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Natural Resources Canada, demonstrating that by reducing the weight of a conventional passenger car or light duty vehicle by 1 kg (through aluminium or any other light weighting material) between 15 and 20 kg CO2 could be saved over the 200,000km driving life of the vehicle.

This in-use greenhouse gas emissions saving is a function of the reduction in energy (and thus fuel) required to power the (lighter) vehicle. Lighter bodied vehicles also require lighter engine components to deliver a given performance and thus not only is there a primary saving (lighter car needs less fuel), but a secondary weight saving too (lighter car requires lighter components to move, saving even more weight and requiring even less fuel).

Electric vehicles, with less potential to downsize componentry (other than fewer or smaller battery packs), have a lower secondary weight saving potential, but there is an equivalent primary energy saving to ICEs, given that the energy required to move the car is not dependent on the power source.

The use phase GHG emissions reduction potential for EV light-weighting is therefore highly dependent on the carbon intensity of the grid that is used to charge the vehicle. Electric grids with a higher proportion of fossil fuels in their power mix will have a much more significant global warming potential per kWh delivered than

*Marketing and Communications Manager for the Aluminium Federation January/February 2018

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Aluminium International Today

18/01/2018 08:51:36

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40 AUTOMOTIVE

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Fig 1. Lifetime CO2 savings (kg CO2/kg) of weight reduced cars (200,000 km, mixed driving), trucks (600,000 km, highway/diesel & mixed/electric) and city buses (600,000 km, urban); for passenger cars, secondary effects by maintaining the power-to-weight ratio of the vehicle are considered

renewables-intensive grids.

The ifeu study illustrates this with examples of lifetime GHG savings by light-weighting EVs in a hydro-powered, low carbon grid (e.g. Norway), a coalintensive, high carbon grid (e.g. China) and a mixed grid (e.g. EU). As expected, GHG savings potential in the Norwegian grid is limited – around 0.2 kg CO2 saved per kg light-weighting over the 200,000 km life of the vehicle. The European grid is an order of magnitude higher at 6 kg per kg weight reduction. The really interesting value is the Chinese grid, at 14 kg CO2 per kg weight saving. What this says is that the emissions potential for light weighting electric vehicles in China (and other coal-intensive regions such as India and South Africa) is of a similar order to light-weighting of conventional vehicles.

This is particularly important as the growth in demand for such vehicles (up to 25 million worldwide by 2030, 54% of new car sales and 33% of the global car fleet according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Electric Vehicle Outlook 2017) will be driven by China (10 million units sold in 2030).

Automakers are seeking multi-material solutions to light-weighting, in both conventional and electric vehicle fleets and aluminium is an important part of this trend. The growth in aluminium body-inwhite, closures and extruded applications, being realised in conventional vehicles (Ducker sees a 165% mass increase in aluminium closures per vehicle 20152020, 83% body-in-white over the same period and 35% in extrusions) is set to continue in EVs, even as aluminium castings demand (predominantly used in January/February 2018

Automotive electric vehicles.indd 2

engine blocks and other non-EV transport applications) plateaus. Indeed, there is further growth potential for aluminium in novel applications such as battery boxes, wiring, cooling systems and other on-vehicle hardware, as well as in the infrastructure required to enable electrification of transport systems (home and public charging stations, cabling, micro-grids and on-grid energy storage).

But even as aluminium (and other lightweight materials) have the potential to reduce the energy requirements and GHG emissions of both ICEs and EVs, automakers and customers are increasingly demanding that vehicles utilise materials with lower environmental footprints, including embodied greenhouse gases.

US

China

Japan

Germany

UK

As the growth in vehicular aluminium is in wrought products (as opposed to cast alloys) the opportunity to realise such low carbon aluminium using increased recycled inputs is limited, due to the gap between scrap availability and demand, and in any case the availability of (postconsumer) wrought scrap in a well sorted form is limited today.

Primary aluminium producers with access to renewable energy sources are therefore increasingly bringing to market low carbon products. 2016 saw the launch of Rio Tinto’s RenewAlTM, the world’s first certified low CO2 aluminium, with a footprint of 4 tonnes CO2 per tonne (electrolysis) and Alcoa’s SUSTANA™ line of cast products: ECOLUM™ from hydropowered smelters and ECODURA™ billet with a minimum of 50% recycled content.

In 2017 UC Rusal launched ALLOW™, with guaranteed CO2 emissions less than 4 tonnes CO2 (smelter scope 1&2), while Hydro’s offering has an even lower footprint: a maximum 4.0 kg CO2 per kg aluminium from the bauxite mining, alumina refining, transportation, energy generation, anode production, electrolysis and casting processes combined. Hydro is also marketing products with a minimum recycled content of 75% post-consumer scrap.

All of these producers are also members of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (along with a number of automotive OEMs), which, in December 2017, launched a new certification programme focused on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium.

We can expect the first certifications early in 2018.

France

Rest of Europe

Rest of world 25M

20M

15M

10M

5M 1 Million 0M 2017

2020

2025

2030

Annual global electric vehicle sales are forecast to hit 24.4 million by 2013. Source: Bloomberg new energy finance

Aluminium International Today

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One of the key issues for markets (not limited to the automotive segment) that increasingly demand low carbon or recycled aluminium, however, is the availability of metal with such qualities.

Improvements in sorting technologies have the potential to improve the yield of quality end-of life scrap, but only by a maximum of around 40%.

Today, 17 million tonnes of the total 23 million tonnes per annum in postconsumer scrap generated is collected, 5 million tonnes of this is in the form of castings, which can only be used in –

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market-saturated - cast applications (or diluted with primary metal) and another 5 million tonnes of wrought scrap are in the form of mixed scrap.

New scrap volumes will increase, but at more than 95% collection efficiency currently, only as a function of increases in total metal transformation.

Primary aluminium will continue to dominate supply; but at current levels only around 25% of the energy used to produce primary is from renewables, predominantly hydro (4-6 tonnes CO2/t Al mine to cast house), with 10% from

natural gas (8-14 tonnes), and over 60% from coal-fired power stations (18-25 tonnes). As more automakers turn to aluminium for light-weighting both conventional and electric vehicles, and without significant investment in smelters with low carbon energy, it is clear that choices will need to be made by those without secure supplies of low carbon aluminium between the use phase benefits of the material and the embodied environmental impacts they bring to their vehicles. ďż˝

January/February 2018

18/01/2018 08:51:43

42 AUTOMOTIVE

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BLOODHOUND is GO! BLOODHOUND’s first public appearance was witnessed by Ian Oliver* “You’ll certainly hear it, but you’ll probably not see it in this weather,” quipped the man on the gate of Newquay Airport in Cornwall, venue for the first – and only – public runs of the BLOODHOUND car in the UK, which took place in October 2017.

Fortunately, the distinctly autumnal weather improved, enabling three days of intensive testing for the vehicle designed ultimately to raise the World Land Speed Record above 1,000 mph. The world’s most advanced straight-line vehicle, BLOODHOUND’s high-speed runs in Cornwall marked a significant milestone in a project that has preoccupied project director – and former Speed Record holder Richard Noble – for more than a decade.

The supersonic car dream The BLOODHOUND tests came 20 years after its driver, Royal Air Force Wing Commander Andy Green, set the current World Land Speed Record of 763 mph in Thrust SSC, in the process becoming the first – and to date the only - person to travel supersonically on land. Noble’s next target – 1,000mph – required a radically different vehicle: one that has been ten years in development, and has cost £30 million to date, and counting.

The most complex car ever built, BLOODHOUND comprises more than 3,500 parts, many designed and manufactured specially for the project. Over 110 man years of effort have been invested in the design, build and manufacture of the car.

13.4m long and weighing 7.5 tonnes, BLOODHOUND uses a mix of car and aircraft technology, with the front section being a carbon fibre monocoque and the back portion being a metallic framework and panels. The two front wheels sit within the body and two rear wheels are mounted externally within wheel fairings. Both a jet engine and a rocket, together producing more than 135,000 horsepower, will power the car when it attempts the Speed Record.

At full speed, BLOODHOUND will cover a mile (1.6km) in 3.6 seconds – equivalent to 4.5 football pitches laid end-to-end,

per second. That’s why the team have selected an 11 mile stretch of lake bed at Hakskeen Pan in South Africa for future runs, and for the record attempt itself.

Prior to the public runs at Newquay, trials were initially carried out with the car chained to the ground, so the team could check the performance of the jet, fuel and electrical systems. These static ‘tie-down’ experiments were extremely successful, with the Rolls Royce EJ200 engine, normally found in a Eurofighter Typhoon, achieving re-heat despite the fact that the jet intake is designed to work best in air travelling at supersonic speeds of 850mph and above.

BLOODHOUND chief engineer Mark Chapman was pleased. “The Newquay tests have gone better than anyone dared hope and that is testament to the many years of research and design invested in BLOODHOUND. It is a one-off prototype with over 3,500 bespoke parts, so to see it performing so well is a hugely satisfying experience.”

“These trials at Newquay take us one step closer to setting the next World Land Speed Record,” adds Richard Noble. “They have been a fantastic team effort. The engineers have been on the front line, of course, but supporting them is a host of people who make the BLOODHOUND project what it is.”

Newquay 3,000 spectators gathered at Newquay Airport in to watch the BLOODHOUND team conduct two runs along the 9,000ft (2.7km) runway. BLOODHOUND accelerated at rate of 1.5g, reaching 200mph from a standing start in just 8 seconds.

“The design and engineering team has done an incredible job with BLOODHOUND,” said Andy Green, on completing the first test. “There is development work still to do, of course, but straight out of the box it feels responsive, stable and, above all, tremendously fast.

“Although 200mph is far below the car’s ultimate target of 1,000mph, this was a

proper workout for the vehicle. The car is designed for high speed on a desert rather than sprint performance off the line, but it still accelerates from zero to 200mph in less than eight seconds. Stopping a slippery five tonne car, running on lowgrip aircraft tyres, within a limited space is also a challenge, particularly as the car continues accelerating for several seconds after I lift off the throttle. We have built up to this over the past few weeks, but the performance today was still slightly astonishing.

“When we run on the dry lake bed at Hakskeen Pan, South Africa, BLOODHOUND will be running on solid aluminium wheels with even less grip than we had here. Data from today’s tests, including jet engine performance, aerodynamic stability and the braking distances, will help us plan our World Land Speed Record campaign.”

On the runway, the car used 84cm diameter wheels shod with pneumatic tyres, originally from a 1960s English Electric Lightning fighter. Specially reconditioned by Dunlop, these have around one-third of the grip of road car tyres.

Running on aluminium…

BLOODHOUND’s forged aluminium wheels (see panel) are real attention-grabbers, but aluminium is found throughout

*Marketing and Communications Manager for the Aluminium Federation January/February 2018

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www.aluminiumtoday.com

features throughout BLOODHOUND, most notably in its forged aluminium wheels – the fastest wheels on Earth.”

BLOODHOUND. Unsurprisingly, given the project’s aerospace and Formula One influences, aluminium is the material of choice for a whole host of parts, including the tailfin, large sections of the chassis, and subassemblies. And while the nose section is skinned in composite material, its core is aluminium honeycomb.

Although the BLOODHOUND project’s focus is gaining a 1,000mph (1,609km/h) World Land Speed Record, its primary aim is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by showcasing STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in the

Aluminium International Today

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most exciting way possible. This was a major factor in the Aluminium Federation – the UK’s aluminium sector trade body – deciding to give BLOODHOUND financial backing.

“Education, especially in the STEM subjects, is vital to the future of manufacturing in the UK, and the BLOODHOUND project is doing an amazing job in inspiring young people in this area,” explains Aluminium Federation President Giles Ashmead. “But that wasn’t the only reason we decided to become a sponsor. Offering a unique combination of strength and lightness, aluminium

Hakskeen calling Now that the tests a Newquay’s 1.7mile runway have been completed, the BLOODHOUND team plans to ship the vehicle to a specially prepared 11 mile track at Hakskeen Pan, near the Namibian border in South Africa, in mid-2018.

The 2018 trials will test the car’s performance and handling during one of its most vulnerable phases: the point between 400 and 500 mph (640800km/h), where the stability of the car transitions from being governed by the interaction of the wheels with the desert surface, to being controlled by the vehicle’s aerodynamics. The grip from the wheels will fall off faster than the aerodynamic forces build up, so this is likely to be the point where the car is at its least stable.

The desert surface has been prepared by members of the local Mier community.

They have moved 16,000 tonnes of rock from 22 million square metres of dry lakebed, the largest area of land ever cleared by hand for a motorsport event.

“The track is 19km by 500m, with large safety areas on both sides,” explains Mark Chapman. “This allows us to lay out up to 50 individual tracks side-by-side, which is important, as we can’t run over the same piece of ground twice because the car will break up the baked mud surface as it passes. We need multiple tracks so we can build speed slowly and safely – going up in 50mph (80km/h) steps, comparing real-world results with theoretical data – and Hakskeen is the perfect place to do this.”

If next year’s testing is successful, Green hopes to top 800 mph in 2019 at Hakskeen Pan, beating his previous speed of 763 mph. Then, in 2020, the BLOODHOUND crew will add extra rocket motors for an attempt to set a 1,000 mph Land Speed Record - the project’s ultimate objective. �

January/February 2018

16/01/2018 16:29:00

44 AUTOMOTIVE

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The fastest wheels on Earth Manned aircraft have flown faster than 1,000mph for more than 60 years – the first being Britain’s experimental Fairey Delta 2 in 1956. But achieving the same speed on land is a different matter entirely. This is mainly due to the need to maintain contact – the right sort of contact – with the ground at all times.

And that means a very special set of wheels - the fastest in the world.

When travelling at 1,000mph, BLOODHOUND’s wheels will be rotating at 10,200rpm, and producing a force of 50,000g at the rim.

And despite the best efforts of the team and local supporters, the desert surface will not be totally smooth, nor uniform. In contrast to previous salt flat locations commonly used for record breaking, BLOODHOUND’s attempts will be on ‘playa’ desert - mainly deposits of sand, silt and clay. Playas are among the flattest known landforms, where when filled with only a few centimetres of water, many kilometres of surface may be inundated. It is this process of inundation that develops and maintains the near-perfect flatness, so characteristic of these arid-region landforms. And, the playa has the additional benefit of cushioning the wheels at high speed, unlike harder salt deposits.

January/February 2018

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Therefore the ‘desert’ wheels have to be strong enough to withstand extreme rotational force, but also resistant to stone impact - a requirement that ruled out more brittle carbon fibre options.

Unlike with a conventional car, BLOODHOUND’s wheels don’t transmit power, and there is a relatively small steering requirement, so tyres aren’t needed. This is just as well, as the fastest tyred car reaches just 277mph.

However, tyres were needed for the runs on the hard runway at Newquay Airport. Bespoke ‘runway’ wheels were produced in 7075 aluminium, shod with Dunlop tyres designed for the Lightning supersonic fighter of the 1960s.

Aluminium consultant Innoval Technology has been involved from the beginning with the development of the ‘desert’ wheels. Working with Lockheed Martin, Innoval conducted a series of tests looking at the damage caused by high speed particles, and initially recommended using the aerospace alloy AA7075.

Further research revealed that even stronger aluminium alloys for large aircraft forgings had been developed, and Innoval finally settled on AA7037 aluminium-zinc alloy from Otto Fuchs, who could also produce the large

diameter forgings suitable for wheel manufacture.

In the forging process the aluminium was heated to more than 390°C, moulded into discs with a 3,668 tonne hot press, and then a 20,000 tonne cold press to produce a simple round (but large) ‘cheese’ shape. The next stage was for each wheel to be milled into the final design by Castle Precision Engineering. Each wheel weighs 95kg and has a diameter of 910mm.

In South Africa next October the car will run for the first time with its solid aluminium wheels, specially designed for the desert surface. Designed to spin at up to 10,200 rpm – more than four times faster than wheels on an F1 car at top speed - the wheels have a V-shaped keel, which digs into the playa surface by 25mm when the car is stationary.

As speeds increase, the wheels will rise up out of the mud surface and plane in much the same way as a speedboat rides up on the surface of the water.

At 500 mph (804 kmh) and above, just a few millimetres of metal will be in contact with the desert surface, and the giant aluminium discs will act more like rudders than the wheels on a conventional car.

Aluminium International Today

16/01/2018 16:29:08

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Metals in the Future 19-20 March 2018 • Hilton London Paddington, London, UK The renewable transformation – implications for commodities demand Metals in the Future 2018 Conference explores the long-term impact of new energy and technology on metals supply and demand.

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Hear from key senior executives from these companies and more: • Rio Tinto • Arcelor Mittal • Anglo American Platinum • Aluminium Stewardship Initiative • University of Cambridge • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development • Eurasian Resources Group • CopperBank • Fitch Ratings Supported by:

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48 BUYERS’ GUIDE TASTER

BUYERS’ GUIDE TASTER

As a leading resource for the aluminium production and processing industries, the Buyers’ Directory reaches the most senior buyers and suppliers in the business.

HANDLING & STORAGE

CLAUDIUS PETERS PROJECTS GMBH Schanzenstraße 40 DE-21614 Buxtehude, Germany T: +49 4161 706-0 F: +49 4161 706-270 E: info@claudiuspeters.com W: www.claudiuspeters.com Claudius Peters stockyards, pneumatic conveyors, silos, clinker coolers, grinding mills, and packing systems can be found in Cement, Coal, Alumina, and Gypsum plants across the globe. The group’s other principal Division, Aerospace, manufactures aircraft parts for Airbus.

PRIMARY REDUCTION/SMELTER PRIMARY

ALUMINIUM BAHRAIN B.S.C. (ALBA) Building 150, King Hamad Highway Askar 951, Bahrain T: +973 1783 0000 F: +973 1783 0083 E: alba@alba.com.bh W: www.albasmelter.com Aluminium Bahrain has been consistently ranked as one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world and is known for its technological strength and high quality aluminium.

FURNACE

HERTWICH ENGINEERING GMBH Weinbergerstr. 6, Braunau, Upper Austria, 5280, Austria T: +43 7722 806-0 F: +43 7722 806-122 E: info@hertwich.com W: www.hertwich.com Hertwich Engineering, a company of the SMS group, is active worldwide with design, supply, construction and commissioning of speciality equipment for the aluminium industry, in particular for aluminium casthouses.

January/February 2018

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DANIELI FRÖHLING Scherl 12, D-58540, Meinerzhagen, Germany T: +49 2354 7082 0 F: +49 2354 7082 200 E: info@danieli-froehling.de W: www.danieli-froehling.de Danieli Fröhling is synonymous for innovative tailor-made solutions for the aluminium industry.

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R&D CARBON PO Box 361, Sierre 3960, Switzerland T: +41 27 459 29 29 F: +41 27 459 29 25 E: rdc@rd-carbon.com W: www.rd-carbon.com R&D Carbon provides expertise for the worldwide metal, oil and coal industry through R&D studies,onsite audits and process optimisation, carbon test equipment, quality control, certification and training courses.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the listings that will appear in the 2018 Buyers’ Directory.

SAFETY

AJ CHARNAUD & COMPANY (PTY) LTD Tel: RSA +27 11 794 6040 T: +27 11 794 6040 EU: +44 (0) 1133 507651 E: aj@charnaud.co.za W: www.charnaud.net With over 40 years of experience AJ Charnaud & Company (Pty) Ltd. has been at the forefront of the development and manufacturing of specialized personal protective clothing. With a complete head-to-foot range of certified products, supported with advanced professional and technical assistance.

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ZIRCAR CERAMICS INC 100 N. Main St Florida, NY USA T: +1 845 651 6600 E: sales@zircarceramics.com W: zircarceramics.com ZIRCAR Ceramics, Inc. is a US based manufacturer and international marketer of castertips, graphite release agent, boron nitride coating, vacuum formed, and pre-cast refractory products for use on all makes of continuous aluminum sheet twin roll, belt and block casters.

QUALITY TESTING & MEASUREMENT

POLYTEC GMBH Polytec Platz 1-7, D-76337, Waldbronn, Germany T: +49 7243 604-0 F: +49 7243 69944 E: info@polytec.de W: www.polytec.de Polytec is the market leader for non-contact, laser based vibration and velocity measurement instrumentation. Our innovative solutions allow our customers to maintain their own technical leadership across many fields.

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Aluminium International Today

18/01/2018 08:53:40

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