It has been three years since the inauguration of the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit, an international technology center for powder metallurgy and advanced manufacturing, reference letter .

Since its inauguration in 2020, the Atomization Pilot Plant has provided companies and universities around the world with batches of high added value metal powder for the research in new production processes.

Ceit celebrates these three years of achievements and continues its work of research and development to drive advanced manufacturing and innovation in the industrial field.

June 17 marked three years since the inauguration of the Atomization Pilot Plant of the technology center Ceit, a significant milestone that marks the center's ongoing commitment to research and innovation in the field of advanced manufacturing. Located in the Miramon Technology Park in Donostia, under the Arbide Towers, this plant, unique in Europe for its characteristics, contributes to the promotion of innovation and competitiveness in various industrial sectors.

Since its inauguration in 2020, the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit has played a key role in the advancement of advanced manufacturing. Ernesto Urionabarrenetxea, researcher Principal of Ceit 's Atomization Pilot Plant explains that "the emergence of various metal Additive Manufacturing technologies has brought about a real revolution in the industry, causing a considerable increase in the demand for gas atomized powder. Faced with this new scenario, Ceit understood that it needed to acquire an industrial-scale atomization unit that would allow it to produce large batches of non-commercial experimental powders and thus satisfy the quantities requested by technology centers, universities and both national and international companies".

Two atomization units

The Pilot Plant at Ceit has two atomization units: one capable of producing around three kilograms of metal powder in each process and another one that deals with atomizations of up to 250 kilograms. The latter is the only one of its kind subject in Europe and is part of the network Basque Science, Technology and Innovation. "Unlike the large companies producing metal powders, the Atomization Pilot Plant at Ceit offers the possibility of producing metal powders "à la carte" and with a high Degree of innovation, which are not currently available on the market", Ernesto points out. In addition, a new multifunction vacuum melting and casting furnace has recently been added to the Pilot Plant through the Basque Government's Azpitek program. This furnace opens the door to being able to design master alloys of high compositional quality for use in the atomization units.

Multiple application sectors

This equipment has expanded the technology center's offer in research of metal powders and atomization processes for "very diverse" sectors and encompassing different applications, such as "aeronautics, automotive, energy, or nuclear fusion," says Ernesto. In addition, Ceit has increased its technological offer, including capabilities for the development of superalloys, powder metallurgy steels, magnetic materials and the design of specific metal powders for Additive Manufacturing.

With an innovative and advanced approach , Ernesto emphasizes that the Atomization Pilot Plant "has a strategic character for the industrial sectors to which it is addressed and is a material reflection of the strategy designed by Ceit in recent years", which is focused on the development of atomization technologies for high metal alloys added value, Additive Manufacturing processes, rare earth recovery technologies and the manufacture of permanent magnets for the mobility electric . Specifically, "with the new atomization unit we have already obtained powders of nickel superalloys, CuCrZr alloys, stainless steels, oxide dispersion hardened steels, soft magnetic materials or master alloys whose composition has been designed by researchers at Ceit", adds Ernesto.

The opening ceremony three years ago was attended by an important institutional representation, a symbol of the strategic importance given by the Basque public administration to advanced manufacturing. Thus, the deputy general of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano; the Basque Minister of Economic development , Arantxa Tapia and the mayor of Donostia, Eneko Goia, took part. All of them agreed in highlighting the contribution of this subject of initiatives to the Economics of the BAC and to the consolidation of a competitive business fabric to face the challenges ahead.

Thanks to the support received by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Basque Government during this time, Ceit celebrates three years of achievements and continues its work of research and development to promote advanced manufacturing and innovation in the industrial field. The Atomization Pilot Plant is a fundamental pillar in this path, and its contribution will continue to be crucial for the growth and competitiveness of companies in the most demanding and promising sectors.

About Ceit

Ceit is a technology center integrated in the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), and was created in 1982 at the initiative of the University of Navarra. Ceit is a private non-profit organization whose mission is mission statement to improve the competitiveness of companies through technology transfer. The center has a strategy of specialization around advanced manufacturing, sustainable mobility and circular Economics .