Rerouting material streams in the additive manufacturing value chain (RECIRCLE)
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB - Chalmers Tekniska Högskola Inst f Industri- & materialvetensk |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 3 850 000 |
| Project duration | June 2022 - August 2025 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme for Metallic material |
| Call | Sustainable metal industry - Material supply |
Important results from the project
The project´s goal of evaluating the possibility of reusing scrap material from metal additive manufacturing to produce high-quality metal powder for AM has been achieved. Analyses of the re-atomized powder from metal waste showed that the physical and chemical powder properties meet the technical requirements for AM. The life cycle assessment showed that the use of waste material for powder production provides a clear environmental advantage compared to traditional material flows.
Expected long term effects
ReCircle project proved that residual material from AM, including disqualified powder, can be reused for powder production with maintained quality. This opens up more sustainable material flows in case of AM and allows to avoid dependence on virgin materials. The project has shown high potential of creation of a functioning recycling chain for materials containing critical raw materials (CRM), which can contribute to reduced import dependence and strengthened resilience within European industry.
Approach and implementation
ReCircle project was based on comprehensive approach combining academic excellence and industrial know-how in powder reuse and recycling, powder atomization, PBF-LB processing and AM manufacturing of high-value metal components, covering the whole AM value chain. Project involved re-atomisation of the scrap from metal AM, extensive powder and material characterization, development of demonstrators and life cycle analysis. Consortium followed the project plan and project aims were achieved.