The University of Liege, school of engineering in Belgium and the GeMMe research group, is taking part in the European H2020 SALEMA project – Substitution of critical raw materials on aluminium alloys for electric vehicles.
SALEMA brings together a consortium of 16 partners from 6 different H2020 participating countries comprising leading European industrial companies, research centres and universities.
A €8.93 million grant was awarded by the European Commission (EC) to develop the substitution of critical raw materials in aluminium alloys for electric vehicles. The project will be developed under the leadership of Fundacio EURECAT, a Spanish leading Technology Centre based in Catalonia, and the second-largest private research organisation in Southern Europe.
Through the SALEMA project, the ULiège GeMMe Lab (UEE) will expand knowledge in aluminium (Al) sorting and recycling processes and further develop efficient and sustainable Al alloys using a higher percentage of scrap. ULiège will notably lead Work Package 7 (WP) on scrap sorting system optimisation.
The scrap sorting optimisation will target four Al alloy scrap classes and subclasses obtained from Zorba sized at 50-100 mm and sourced from the recycling of end-of-life vehicles and metallic scraps. Zorba consists of a mix of shredded nonferrous metals comprising primarily aluminium, but which may also contain copper, lead, brass, magnesium, stainless steel, nickel, tin and zinc. Zorba is produced by eddy current separator or other segregation techniques typically used in the recycling industry.
SALEMA project activities will be carried out over a 3-year time frame and address in a coordinated and cooperative manner the key challenges of the value chain: improving scrap classification and sorting systems to turn scrap into a valuable raw material; demonstrating the feasibility to substitute CRMs in alloying systems; developing recycled aluminium alloys with improved mechanical performance.
To read more, go to www.facsa.uliege.be
