Hydro is opening an aluminium research laboratory in Sweden to test new types of alloys and their extrudability.
The Extrusion Test Centre is located near Hydro’s product application lab in Finspång and includes a new aluminium extrusion press and metal casting facilities.
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The investment extends and complements the company’s global research and product application capabilities for sustainable aluminium solutions.
“Research and application development has always been one of our strong points as a supplier of aluminium solutions and with sustainability now the key word in our industry, we need to speed these efforts to meet market needs,” said Hydro Extruded Solutions business area EVP, Egil Hogna.
The test centre will be part of the global Innovation & Technology (I&T) unit of Extruded Solutions, which includes the product application lab in Finspång and an automotive-focused research and development lab outside Detroit, in Troy, Michigan.
I&T also operates aluminium tubing corrosion laboratories in China and the US.
The application lab in Finspång carries out robotic welding, hot metal gas forming, friction stir welding, thermal testing and the testing of components, such as crash testing of automotive systems.
The extrusion press, delivered by Prizma Engineering, will allow Hydro to test for extremely hard aluminium alloys, including 7000-series alloys. The melting furnace for casting will yield a large part of the metal supply used within the lab.
Hydro Extruded Solutions employs more than 1,000 engineers in its global operation, which spans 40 countries.
