BorgWarner has won its first commercial order for an electric motor developed with aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology. The US automotive supplier will provide the new eMotor to a major Chinese automaker for use in hybrid vehicles, bringing the technology into its first production application. The motor uses aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology and is designed for hybrid vehicles. Its applications include generator motors and traction motors for auxiliary drive systems, with production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires & Cables - Insights & Forecast to 2030 for insights into aluminium applications, industry developments and opportunities across the electrical sector . Compared with conventional copper-wire motors with...
Getting a clean, smooth finish while removing material quickly is not always easy when machining high-strength aluminium alloys. A new study on AA7075-T6 aluminium alloy has explored this challenge, identifying two different sets of drilling conditions to improve surface quality and maximise machining productivity. The research examined how cutting speed, feed rate and drill depth influence conventional drilling performance. Using response surface methodology and a central composite design, the researchers developed predictive models to determine how changes in these parameters affect the machining process. The models showed a strong level of accuracy, with coefficients of determination (R²) reaching 0.9731 for surface roughness and 0.9359 for material removal rate. Further confirmation...
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Hindalco Industries board will consider raising up to INR 4,400 crore via debt. The board “will consider... to avail not exceeding INR 2,400 crore working capital facility by way of commercial papers and unsecured debentures for aluminium business subject to necessary approval”, Hindalco Industries Ltd said in a filing to the BSE today. The board will also consider availing “not exceeding INR 2,000 crore working capital facility by way of commercial papers and unsecured debentures etc for copper business subject to necessary approval”, the filing added. The meeting of the board of directors is scheduled for August 11. Hindalco, the metal flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, is the industry leader in aluminium and copper, according to the company website. With a consolidated turnover of $17...
According to the recently published Bahrain Economic Quarterly, by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), growth in the non-oil sector of Bahrain’s economy reached 4.4% in Q1 2017, up from 3.7% during the same period of 2016. This growth was primarily driven by strong performance across the non-oil private sector. The Kingdom is experiencing large amount of investment in infrastructure projects which is supporting the growth momentum in Bahrain’s non-oil economy. Overall, in the first quarter of 2017 the Bahraini economy expanded by 2.9%. One of such projects is the US$ 3 billion Alba Line 6 project – which is set to create the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter. The Potline 6 has two pot rooms that are considered the longest buildings on the Line 6 Expansion Project...
An Indigenous owned mine training centre and bauxite mining operation developed by Gumatj Corporation in Northeast Arnhem Land with support from Rio Tinto was opened at the 19th annual Garma Festival. The Gulkula Regional Training Centre and Gulkula bauxite mining operation are owned by the Gumatj clan. Mining giant Rio Tinto committed to purchase the bauxite produced from the mine. Gumatj Corporation CEO Klaus Helms said “With Rio Tinto’s support, Yolngu people can now receive on-the-job training through Gumatj mining operations. The skills they develop will open up opportunities for them to build careers in the mining industry in the Northern Territory and beyond.” “The bauxite sales agreement we signed with Rio Tinto also signifies their commitment to ensuring the success of our new...
Germany’s import of aluminium plates, sheets and strips witnessed a drop in the first six months of 2017 ended June 30. The shrinkage in import volume and value is in line with the new-car sales figure for Germany which declined 3.5 per cent last month to 327,693 vehicles, according to data from Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt ( KBA )- Federal Motor Transport Authority. As per VDA industry Association, German domestic car production and exports are expected to fall 2 per cent each this year to 5.6 million and 4.3 million vehicles, respectively. In H1 2017, total import of aluminium plates, sheets and strips by Germany stood at 4,77,049 tonnes, down from 4,81,312.5 tonnes in H1 2016. The value of import also dropped from US$1.5 billion in H1 2016 to US$1.4 billion in H1 2017. Looking ahead to the...
China Aluminum International Trading Co. (Chalco Trading) has increased aluminium prices it offered in China’s major markets today by more than 300 RMB/tonne. Unit: RMB/tonne Also, SHFE aluminium prices surged today following release of Program for Off-Peak Production during Winter Heating Season in Hebei Province. Currently, there are no alumina refineries and aluminium smelters in operation in Hebei Province, and hence the alumina and aluminium production was not affected, SMM reports. China’s aluminium smelters have registered a rise in profit driven by aluminium prices. Chinese aluminium smelters sees cost fall in the future. SMM statistics showed that the increasing aluminium prices expanded the average profit further to above 1,300 RMB/tonne. An increase in prices of prebaked anode...
A team at shanghai jiao tong university blended aluminium and ceramic together to create a new composite material that is stronger and more rigid than titanium alloy. The breakthrough happened after nearly 30 years of research. The composite known as "alumics‚" is now in the testing stage in C919 jets and Geely automobiles, and is expected to help aviation, automobile and high-speed rail industries in lightweighting and fuel economy. "Ceramics is fragile in many people's mind, but its rigidity is actually even better than steel," said Wang Haowei, a professor at Jiao Tong's School of Material Science and Engineering who leads the alumics team. A method used commonly across the world to make aluminium ceramic composite is to make ceramic particles or fibers and then add them into the...
Ducati India has launched the brand new Scrambler Café Racer in India with elaborate cosmetic updates which include a lot of aluminium! The new machine with the same 803 cc, L-twin engine is capable of making 73 bhp at 8,250 rpm and reaches a peak torque of 67 Nm at 5,750 rpm. Speaking about the new launch Sergi Canovas Garriga, Managing Director of Ducati India said, “This motorcycle is a modern interpretation of the legendary Cafe Racer scene from the 1960s that triggered a motorcycling revolution. It represents the expression of free spirit and is an icon of style for enthusiasts. We’re very confident that with the Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer, we will successfully bring the global cultural phenomenon to India as well.” The new Ducati Scrambler Café Racer is built around the same basic...
India's bauxite production is expected to increase from 22.08 million tonnes in 2016 to 49.4 million tonnes by 2021, says a BMI Research report. According to a BMI Research report, India's bauxite production is expected to rise from 22.08 million tonnes in 2016 to 49.4 million tonnes by 2021. Report further projects that in 2017, bauxite production would be at 26.1 million tonnes, up 18% from 2016. "We forecast Indian bauxite production to grow from 26.1 MT in 2017 to 49.4 MT in 2021, averaging an annual growth rate of 17.5 per cent during 2017-2021, significantly higher than the annual average 3.9 per cent growth over 2012-2016," the Fitch Group company said. Growing demand from the domestic aluminium industry and five-fold increase in mining lease area in Odisha are expected to drive...
LME aluminium is yet to start gaining strength. The light metal which closed at US$1,892 per tonne last Thursday, August 3, dipped further down to US$1,890 per tonne after night trading on Friday, August 4. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium should continue to struggle around the moving average and range at US$1,900-1,918 per tonne on Monday, August 7. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may test a resistance at US$1,938 per tonne in the short term. A break above this level may lead to a gain to the next resistance at US$,948 per tonne. As on August 4, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$1,888 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$1,890 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$1,909 per tonne,...
In order to improve transparency and increase the amount of metal registered under LME warrant, The London Metal Exchange has urged its network of metal warehouse owners to cut the rents charged for storage of metal. Rents for aluminium on warrant currently stands at about around 54 U.S cents a tonne, of which the exchange earns 1.1%. Storage rent for metal not under LME warrant is 10 cents or less than that. Commenting on the request, an LME spokesperson said: "The LME has initiated a discussion with the warehouse community to find a solution to collectively cut the relatively high headline rents which can keep metal out of the LME network," LME warehouses over the last three years have been releasing metal, particularly aluminium to keep the inventories in check. The current stocks at...
The downstream aluminium sector last week is marked by a half yearly results, product announcement and market report on global aluminium casting. Hulamin Extrusions performed consistently despite further weakening of domestic market conditions. With this article, let’s revisit some of the news that you need to know from the downstream aluminium industry. Hulamin delivers improved financial results for the half-year ended 30 June 2017 Aluminium extruded product manufacturer Hulami’s rolled products volumes were up 8% to 221,000 tonnes annualised, as unit costs down 8%. The company increased its domestic beverage can packaging volumes by 133% despite a fall in overall manufacturing. The turnover increased by 3% to R5.1 billion. Aluminium products manufacturer Alcomet reports profit fall in...
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In an investor presentation on Wednesday, Century Aluminum’s president and CEO Michael Bless said that his firm plans reopening the 100 thousand tpy of idled aluminium smelting capacity in the United States soon. He however added that the reopening depends on the availability of cheaper power for the Mt. Holly smelter. This was in response to investor’s questions regarding the future of the idled potline at Mt. Holly and Hawesville plant. Regarding Mt. Holly, Bless said a restart would happen “as soon as we can get the last 25% of that power from the market.” However, he added that even if a new agreement is reached, smelting new aluminium at the plant will still take “several months.” The Mt. Holly facility has been running only one potline for last two years despite having a nameplate...
The global economic growth is estimated to underpin solid demand for aluminium, and hence the significance of bauxite as the ore for the white metal. Australia is geared to serve world demand for bauxite especially from China. Australia, the world's largest producer of bauxite, accounts for approximately one-third of global production in 2016-17. The country is expected to produce 82.7 million tonnes of bauxite in FY 2016-2017 (July-June), up 1.22% YOY, as confirmed by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. This country’s bauxite production is expected to grow at a rate of 6% per year for next three financial years to reach 98 million tonnes in fiscal 2019-2020. There are currently five bauxite mines in Australia providing feedstock for the seven alumina refineries. The...
Amidst uncertainties about aluminium capacity cut in China, The government has issued a suggestion that construction of new coal-fired captive power plants will be banned in cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. The document also directed that coal-fired captive power plants must comply with national energy-saving and emission discharge standards. On this news, SHFE aluminium prices jumped to RMB 14,850/mt on Friday after opening at RMB 14,690/mt. SHFE 1710 aluminium plunged later, closing at RMB 14,765/mt. On this development, aluminium smelters in east China are holding back goods as recent gains in SHFE aluminium market have fuelled their optimism. Market supply was squeezed as a result, which forced downstream producers to accept higher prices...
Aluminium futures traded on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange eased by 0.08 per cent to INR 122.20 per kilogram on Friday, August 4. Market participants cut down their bets based on speculations amid weak demand in the spot market MCX aluminium for delivery in September 2017 fell by 10 paise or 0.08 per cent to INR 122.20 per kg, in a total business turnover of three lots. MCX aluminium for delivery in August followed the downtrend and dropped by 0.04 per cent to INR 121.50 per kg in business turnover of 126 lots. According to market analysts, sluggish demand from the end user industries in the spot market led to offloading of positions by the participants dragging down aluminium prices at the futures trade on Friday, August 4. In the global market, LME aluminium is hovering at US$1,890...
KEMPER GmbH, a manufacturer of extraction and filter systems for the metal-processing industry has completed 25 years of its site in Czech Republic, a press release confirms. KEMPER spol. s r.o. developed its first international production site there 25 years ago. Initially set up as a pure sales office, the site slowly developed into a plant that will include all sheet metal processing up to powder coating. The site was instrumental in the development of KEMPER group as it supplies the entire sheet metal processing requirement to the group. The expansion continues in 2017. “In addition to our headquarters in Vreden, to this day KEMPER in the Czech Republic is the most important location for us”, emphasizes Björn Kemper, Managing Director of KEMPER GmbH. The company press release confirms...
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Owing to the faster growth of the building and construction sector, electrical applications have grown over the years driving demand for aluminium products like rod, wire, cable and conductor. Bahrain is a growing aluminium hub that houses Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the oldest and the most profitable aluminium producer in the Middle East and a number of aluminium wire and cable manufacturers that export their products around the world. We are analysing the export data for aluminium wire in the first and second half of 2016 and the first of 2017 to get an idea about how the industry is moving recently. According to our data, Bahrain exported 248597.57 tonnes of aluminium wires in 2016. For the first half of the year, the amount stood at 114707.8 tonnes and it increased to 133889.69 tonnes...
The U.S. based lithium ion electric vehicle battery recycler American Manganese Inc. has announced plans to build a hydrometallurgical plant that can recycle up to 4000 tonnes of cobalt from spent lithium-ion batteries per year. The company intends to expand the operations to include aluminium recycling along with other metal recycling from various cathode chemistries at a later stage. AMI has been successfully producing rechargeable lithium-ion cobalt and lithium nickel manganese button cell batteries from 100 per cent recycled cathode material. The new facility would further expand its recycling abilities. As per AMI’s last month’s monetary values (per 500 kg) of the metals recovered from electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries, lithium cobalt stood at US$ 5,947, nickel manganese cobalt...
