Known for the development of sustainable stainless steel, Outokumpu will start producing metal powders for AM at its new in Krefeld, Germany, as from April 2023.The company will use the steel scrap from local production to create new solutions to the market.
Outokumpu’s primary focus is on producing metal powders that are not yet on the market – suited for companies that use technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM), Metal Injection Moulding (MIM), Binder Jetting (BJ) and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) to produce parts for demanding applications. With metal powders, manufacturers can produce parts with higher complexity, less weight and decreased lead times, avoiding disruptions in the supply chain.
“The global demand for metal powder is on the rise and we see great potential for the business in the near future. We have seen the growth of Additive Manufacturing industries and the potential to strengthen the position and use of stainless steel for metal powder products, and therefore decided to start the construction of a new designed atomization plant. Outokumpu has an extensive expertise on the materials and will partner with interested powder customers. We are happy to start with the internal production soon, followed by external run a bit later. There is already a great interest among customers and the first projects have started,” says Thomas Anstots, President of BL Advanced materials at Outokumpu.
“In the near future, the estimated total production capacity will be approximately 330 tons annually. Our longer-term target is to utilize the learnings and to build up our R&D knowhow to support the customer journey with expertise, new material development, flexibility and customization for various powder metallurgy technologies. In our future vision, we could be able to serve our customers in such a way that they could come to us with a problem and leave with a solution,” Anstots continues.
Riding on its high recycling rate – the new atomization plant as a large recycling unit
Outokumpu’s business is based on circular economy. The company’s stainless steel has the highest recycled material content rate – in 2022, the company achieved record-high rate of 94%. Outokumpu’s stainless steel is also the single most recycled material globally, and the company’s mills in Europe and in the US are among the largest material recycling facilities in the world.
Outokumpu is partnering with SMS group as the technology supplier. The Equipment as a Service (EaaS) contract ensures a continuous line optimization and close collaboration in the powder business between the supplier and the producer over the next years.
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