ECK Industries gets licence for cerium-aluminium alloy for vehicles and airplanes

Wisconsin's Eck Industries has got an exclusive license for commercial application of a cerium-aluminum (Ce-Al) alloy co-developed by the Department of Energy's Critical Materials Institute (CMI) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.The alloy is custom made for use in lightweight, strong components for advanced automotive and aerospace sector.

The patent-pending alloy blends cerium, the most abundant rare earth element with aluminium creating new applications for cerium supporting both domestic rare earth mining and the US manufacturing sector.

Scientists at ORNL, in collaboration with Eck Industries and researchers at DOE, developed the Ce-Al alloy that is malleable, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and stable at high temperatures(500 degrees Celsius )—perfect for automotive, aerospace and power applications. For example, an engine
made using the alloy can run hotter with more complete fuel consumption despite being lightweight, which advances fuel efficiency.

According to ORNL scientist Orlando Rios, casting with the alloy can be possible using standard aluminium foundry process and without a protective atmosphere.

"The alloy is thermodynamically stable," Rios said. “Energy costs could potentially be reduced by 30-60% compared with traditional casting processes,” he noted.

Alan Liby, director of ORNL's Advanced Manufacturing Program, said, "The breakthrough properties observed in this innovative alloy will enable greater manufacturing energy efficiency and new energy-efficient products."

"There has been tremendous interest from industry due to the unique material properties and low cost of this alloy," said David Weiss, vice president of Engineering/R&D at Eck.

CMI brings together industrial, academic, and national lab expertise to leverage on the applications of critical materials like rare earth elements in the energy, defence, and other manufacturing sectors. The collaboration of multiple national laboratories and industry in leveraging scientific knowledge to help solve critical materials issues played a significant role in developing this alloy in a short time.

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"It's tough for a mine to survive if half of its output has no market. This alloy creates a use for the cerium that accompanies scarce and critical rare earths like neodymium and dysprosium," said CMI Director Alex King.

ECK Industries has been producing aluminium castings for customers in the military, automotive, aerospace, energy, medical, and industrial markets since 1948. The company was developing and testing the Ce-Al alloy under a separate agreement. Eck was involved in pilot-scale experiments of the alloy and provided manufacturing insight and expertise to the project.