• The pilot plant will serve companies and research centers by providing special batches of metal powder for sectors such as automotive, aeronautics, space, energy, Oil & Gas or biomedicine.
• It will be a unique Scientific-Technical Infrastructure of the RVCTI unique worldwide.
• The support of the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the San Sebastian City Council have been essential for the location of the pilot plant in the Miramón Technology Park

 

The Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia, highlighted the importance of having a well-focused technology that helps us face future challenges and that is based on excellence, specialization and market orientation . Tapia added that the pilot atomization plant that has been presented today contributes to the digitization strategy of the productive fabric and to the recovery of waste that acquire increasing importance every day.

The Deputy General of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano, has reaffirmed the need to "decisively support technological innovation" to face "the social and economic challenges of our time", as well as to guarantee the future of "a competitive industry" that allows generating quality employment and well-being “for all people”. In this sense, he has highlighted the "industrial orientation" of the new plant, which will serve "key industrial sectors of the future" for the territory. "The commitment to innovation not only allows us to face the current crisis more solidly, but also to continue building a cohesive society with an eye toward the future", confirmed Olano.

The managers of Ceit, a center belonging to the BRTA Alliance, led by its Corporate President, José Mª Vázquez Eguskiza, today presented the strategic lines in powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing, and the new Atomization Pilot Plant located in the Miramón Technology Park at an institutional representation made up of the General Deputy of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano, the Minister for Economic Development and Infrastructure of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia and the Mayor of San Sebastián, Eneko Goia.

The strategic lines will focus on the development of high added value metal alloy atomization technologies, additive manufacturing processes, as well as rare earth recovery technologies and the manufacture of permanent magnets for electric mobility.

The new pilot atomization plant will cover the gap between the development of laboratory technology and its transfer to an industrial scale.

This Singular Scientific Technical Infrastructure of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network (RVCTI) will contribute to positioning Ceit, and by extension, the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) as a world reference in powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing.

The plant that has been presented today has two atomizers: the first one capable of producing up to 3 kg of metallic powder in each process and the second for atomizations of up to 250 kg. This infrastructure is strategic for the industry in that it allows us to get “tailor-made raw materials” to manufacture part preseries in new “near net shape” processes for sectors such as automotive, aeronautics, aerospace, energy, Oil & Gas, biomedicine. or the science industry.

Iñigo Iturriza, Director of the Materials and Manufacturing Division of Ceit, highlighted the 35 years of innovative experience of the technological center in Powder Metallurgy, recalling that this new infrastructure will contribute to improving the competitiveness of Basque companies by opening up the possibility of have experimental metal powders available to investigate new manufacturing processes or the development of advanced performance components. Therefore, the new Ceit atomization plant becomes a unique infrastructure in Europe while the technology center consolidates its position as a benchmark in Advanced Manufacturing, recently endorsed by accreditation as a center of excellence for the Red Cervera by the CDTI.

The mayor of Donostia, Eneko Goia, has pointed out that the new atomization plant promoted by Ceit is "a new example of the commitment that our city makes to research and the technological vanguard as an essential part of its DNA". Goia has also highlighted that "Donostia tends to be associated with other aspects such as gastronomy or tourism, but applied research, closely related and focused on the industry of the territory, is another of the props on which the economy of our city. In this commitment, the contribution of top-level players such as Ceit is essential. "