Metalysis’ Materials Discovery Centre
Metalysis’ Materials Discovery Centre
UK-based metal powder manufacturer, Metalysis is powering up its world-first commercial plant for metal alloy production at its Materials Manufacturing Centre in Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire.
The result of more than a decade of technology development, the news marks the company’s transition into commercial production after reaching mechanical completion last year. In that time, the project, named Generation 4 (Gen4), has undergone hot commissioning, trial runs, optimisation and handover to operations.
Earlier this year, Metalysis secured 12m GBP in funding, bringing its total raised to 25m GBP, to fund state-of-the-art post-processing facilities, feedstock and support the rollout of Gen4. The facility is the first to take Metalysis’ solid-state, modular, electrochemical process to an industrial scale with the scope to produce hundreds of tonnes of high value, niche and master alloys for advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, aerospace, battery and automotive industries, every year.
Metalysis’ solid-state process technology offers multi-metal capabilities, which enables the production of alloy ‘recipes’ combining elements with melting and density differentials. Gen4 will allow Metalysis to commercially produce a demand-driven mix of titanium alloys, master alloys including Scandium-Aluminide, compositionally complex alloys including High Entropy Alloys, magnet materials, high temperature materials, and Platinum Group Metal alloys in a range of quantities.
Throughout phased expansions, the technology has also presented opportunities to reduce all-in costs and environmental footprints compared to traditional, melting production routes.
“In powering up and operating our industrial plant, Metalysis is poised to achieve its target to generate significant profits from our new South Yorkshire production facility,” Dr. Dion Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer, said. “Ours is a true British success story with international implications. Metalysis has grown from the ‘lightbulb moment’ at Cambridge University in the late-1990s, relocated to South Yorkshire to benefit from regional excellence in operational skillsets in the early-2000s, and now onwards towards a bright commercial future.”
