RE:RE:Imperial Mining and Eck Industries Execute a Letter of IntenAbsolutely. Weiss is someone to watch in this space and can put things in perspective.
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2210214-qa-the-evolution-of-automotive-metals-and-materials
Is it a race between materials?
There isn't going to be a really clear winner or loser. We believe we are in a race with each other but it is a matter of degree. You want to grab as many applications as your can. Everyone is trying to grow their market share through their own innovations and cost reductions. One of the buzz-words in automotive is multi-material structures. To use each material most effectively you have to be very aware of what you are attaching it to or you can get unwanted interactions. I am absolutely neutral on the entire periodic table. The periodic table is the toolbox.
Scandium is another important tool that can be used to produce better alloys, particularly, better aluminium alloys. There is a lot of work going on now which I am very happy about. Rio Tinto really brings their reputation to scandium and the supply base is now seen as reliable. There are definite applications that are going to take huge advantage, probably initially in aerospace with satellites as an example. One potential area is what we call the techno-economic gap between titanium and aluminium. Let's say that you need light weight or better high-temperature performance and a material that is just 10pc stronger than the best aluminium alloy can be. If you cannot redesign the part, you may be forced into using titanium, which is considerably more expensive. In that case you may pay 10 times as much for only a 10pc improvement. Scandium is a material could help close that gap.
https://patents.justia.com/assignee/eck-industries-incorporated
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200340082
Described herein are additive manufacturing methods and products made using such methods. The alloy compositions described herein are specifically selected for the additive manufacturing methods and provide products that exhibit superior mechanical properties as compared to their cast counterparts. Using the compositions and methods described herein, products that do not exhibit substantial coarsening, such as at elevated temperatures, can be obtained. The products further exhibit uniform microstructures along the print axis, thus contributing to improved strength and performance. Additives also can be used in the alloys described herein
Rare earth component: As used herein, the term rare earth component refers to a component comprising one or more rare earth elements. As defined by IUPAC and as used herein, the term rare earth element includes the 15 lanthanide elements, scandium, and yttrium—Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, I, Er Tm, Yb, or Lu.