Alcoa to commercialize Micromill technology

Alcoa has said it will commercialize its Micromill technology, working with Italy-based Danieli Group, a global supplier of plants and equipment to the metals industry. Danieli will license Alcoa’s intellectual property associated with manufacturing Micromill products.

In a recent announcement, Alcoa and Ford Motor Co. said the automaker has selected Micromill material to be used on its 2016 Ford F-150 truck.

Under the letter of intent, Alcoa and Danieli will work toward an agreement to sell Micromill equipment and license the patented Micromill technology. As part of the collaboration, Alcoa says it will grant Danieli exclusive rights to sell Micromill equipment for a limited time. In addition, the companies will work together to license the Micromill alloys and process technology to potential customers around the world, initially targeting Europe, South America and Southeast Asia.

“This agreement puts our disruptive Micromill technology on the fast-track to commercialization,” says Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and CEO. “Micromill technology has the potential to change the face of the aluminum rolling industry—producing material with unrivalled characteristics through a revolutionary manufacturing process. Our partnership with Danieli will move this proprietary technology from pilot plant to full-scale production, unlocking value for our shareholders and bringing high-tech metal to customers around the world.”

To date, Alcoa says it has Micromill qualification agreements in place with nine major automotive customers on three continents, including Ford.

In addition to Ford’s use of Micromill material on its F-150, Alcoa also announced that it has entered into a joint development agreement to collaborate with the automaker on next-generation aluminum alloys for automotive parts using Micromill technology. The projected use of Micromill material on Ford vehicles is expected to more than double from 2016 to 2017, Aloca says.

Micromill technology produces an aluminum alloy that is 40 percent more formable and 30 percent stronger than today’s automotive aluminum while meeting stringent automotive surface quality requirements, the company claims. Compared with parts made from high-strength steel, automotive parts made with Micromill material are twice as formable and at least 30 percent lighter, Alcoa adds.

Micromill also significantly reduces production time, according to Alcoa, which describes it as “the fastest, most productive aluminum casting and rolling system in the world.” While a traditional rolling mill takes nearly 20 days to turn molten metal into a coil, Micromill does so in 20 minutes, the company claims.

Specific terms of the letter of intent with Danieli were not disclosed.