Sustainable metal production facility under construction

Epson Atmix has invested in equipment for the construction of a new factory, which will recycle waste metal to produce raw material for metal powder.

As sourcing virgin materials will likely become more challenging due to underground resource scarcity and soaring metal prices, the factory aims to mitigate this by manufacturing metal powders from recycled metal resources.

As a facility for recycling metal for use in producing metal powders, the factory will be outfitted with a high-frequency induction furnace for melting metals, an AOD refining furnace for removing impurities from metals and a casting machine for forming ingots.

The factory will be used to recycle unwanted metals from various sources, including out-of-specification metal powders in manufacturing processes, metal scraps generated within Atmix, and metal end cuts and used moulds discarded by the Epson Group. These metals will be used as raw materials for Atmix’s metal powders. Virgin materials such as high-purity iron from blast furnaces will be replaced with recycled metal materials, conserving underground resources and reducing CO₂ emissions.

The introduction of a new process will better enable Epson Atmix to develop next-generation high-performance powders, improve magnetic properties and enhance its amorphous forming capability, contributing to the realisation of a new generation of compact and energy-efficient devices.

The new factory is a step on the path to reaching Epson’s goal of becoming carbon negative and underground resource free by 2050.