Brembo SpA, in collaboration with Cannon Ergos SpA, has built a pilot plant which uses semi-solid metal alloy processing for the automotive industry. The project was carried out at the Kilometro Rosso Science and Technology Park, and was co-funded by the European LIFE programme.

The programme started in July 2016 and involved the construction of a new pilot plant for the large-scale manufacture of lightweight, high-quality components for cars and motorbikes. This is part of the LIFE CRAL (CRadle-to-grave Approach to Light alloys) project, co-funded by the European LIFE 2014-2020 programme (Environment and climate action programme).

CRAL’s purpose was to develop a pre-production scale process for high-performance automotive components, using recycled aluminium or so-called eco-magnesium (Eco-Mg). The process means     a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions at the primary aluminium processing stage and eliminats the use of SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride), a highly polluting gas (one kilogram of SF6 is the equivalent of 22 tonnes of CO2) used in the production of magnesium.

Through the CRAL project, Brembo and Cannon Ergos have demonstrated the feasibility of a cutting-edge production process able achieve both technical and environmental goals.

Roberto Vavassori, Chief Public Affairs & Institutional Relations Officer Brembo. “The CRAL pilot plant will allow the entire production chain to be redesigned, in order to use this innovative technology to produce, as standard, high-performance components, using materials with low environmental impact. In this context, the CRAL project has huge potential for replication and transferability, benefiting industries outside the scope of the automotive sector. Brembo’s primary aim has been to replicate this process, especially in terms of reducing its own environmental footprint. Many companies operating in the automotive and aerospace sectors have already expressed lively interest in using this technology to produce their own components. Thus, the technology developed in the CRAL project is responding to a real demand from the industry, opening the way to further development possibilities”.