Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit to celebrate its third anniversary

It has been three years since the Atomization Pilot Plant was inaugurated at Ceit, a technology centre with an international standing in powder metallurgy and state-of-the-art manufacturing.

Since it was inaugurated in 2020, the Atomization Pilot Plant has provided companies and universities throughout the world with batches of powder metallurgy with high added value for research in new production processes.

Ceit is celebrating these past three years of achievements and is continuing its research and development work in order to foster state-of-the-art manufacturing and innovation within the industrial milieu.

Last June 17th have been three years since the inauguration of the Atomization Pilot Plant at the Ceit Technology Centre – a significant milestone that sets out the centre’s continued commitment to research and innovation in the field of state-of-the-art manufacturing. Located in the Miramón Technology Park in Donostia, below the Arbade Towers, this plant – unique in Europe in terms of its features – contributes to the drive towards innovation and competitiveness in a range of industrial sectors.

Since its inauguration in 2020, the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit has played an essential role in state-of-the-art manufacturing. The chief researcher at the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit, Ernesto Urionabarrenetxea, explains that «the emergence of diverse additive manufacturing technologies has led to a genuine revolution in the industry, giving rise to a considerable increase in demand for atomized powder with gas. In view of this new scenario, Ceit realised it needed to acquire an industrial-scale atomization unit that would enable large batches of non-commercial experimental powder to be produced and thus meet the amounts requested by technology centres, universities and companies both within Spain and overseas».

Two atomization units

The Pilot Plant at Ceit is equipped with two atomization units: one capable of producing around three kilos of metal powder in the course of each process and another that deals with atomization of up 250 kilos. The latter is the only one of its kind in Europe and forms part of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network. «Unlike major metal powder-producing companies, the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit offers the chance to produce “a la carte” metal», Ernesto points out. Furthermore, a new multi-purpose fusion and vacuum casting furnace has recently been incorporated into the Pilot Plant via the Basque Government’s Azpitek programme. This furnace opens the door to being able to create high-quality compositional master alloy designs for use in atomization units.

Many sectors of application

This equipment has expanded what the technology centre offers in terms of research into metal powders and atomization processes for «very diverse» sectors and which encompass different applications such as «aeronautics, the car industry, energy and nuclear fusion», Ernesto maintains. Moreover, Ceit has increased what it offers from a technological standpoint, including the capacity to develop superalloys, powder metallurgy steels, magnetic materials and specific metal powder design for additive manufacturing.

Using an innovative and state-of-the-art approach, Ernesto highlights the fact that the Atomization Pilot Plant «is of a strategic nature for the industrial sectors which it targets and is a material reflection of the strategy designed by Ceit in recent years», which focuses on the development of metal alloy atomization technologies with high added value, additive manufacturing processes, rare earth recovery technologies and the manufacturing of permanent magnets for electric mobility. Specifically, «with the new atomization unit, nickel superalloy powders have already been obtained, as have those of CuCrZr alloys, of stainless steels, of steels hardened by oxide dispersion, of soft magnetic materials and of master alloys whose composition has been designed by Ceit researchers», Ernesto adds.

The inaugural event three years ago was represented on a major institutional level – a sign of the strategic importance given by Basque public administration to state-of-the-art manufacturing. As such, the following took part: the General Deputy of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano; the Basque Minister for Economic Development, Arantxa Tapia; and the mayor of Donostia, Eneko Goia. All of them coincided in highlighting the contribution made by these types of initiative to the economy of the Basque Autonomous Community and the consolidation of a competitive business fabric to help face upcoming challenges.

Thanks to the support received by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Basque Government over this time, Ceit is celebrating three years of achievements and is continuing its research and development work in order to foster state-of-the-art manufacturing and innovation within the industrial milieu. The Atomization Pilot Plant is a basic pillar along this path, and its contribution will remain crucial for the growth and competitiveness of companies in the most demanding and promising sectors.

About Ceit

Ceit is a technology centre that forms part of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) and was set up in 1982 on the initiative of the University of Navarra. Ceit is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to improve company competitiveness via the transfer of technology. The centre has a specialisation strategy that focuses on state-of-the-art manufacturing, sustainable mobility and the circular economy.