TITANIUM PROCESSING

EcoTitanium, a European plant for recycling and refining titanium alloys for critical applications, was opened in France in 2017. It was the first plant in Europe to melt titanium with a cold hearth furnace – a technology that allows users to recycle titanium reverts coming from forging and machining castings from the aerospace supply chain.

The SECO/WARWICK Group was chosen as the main supplier of advanced vacuum metallurgy technology for this strategic European project, securing the creation of an autonomous European titanium channel.

Sławomir Tomaszewski, director of the Vacuum Melting Furnaces Team in the SECO/WARWICK Group, comments, “The innovative VAR furnace will increase the Partner’s production capacity and can respond to the increased demand for titanium in Europe. EcoTitanium has created the first integrated titanium processing plants in Europe, which opens the door to European, ecological, and innovative solutions for the aerospace industry. We are glad that our Group is part of this strategic project and that Retech and SECO/WARWICK brand solutions constitute the core of the machine park.”

“For EcoTitanium, we, as Retech and SECO/WARWICK, delivered two furnaces seven years ago: a plasma furnace (PAM) for consolidation and refining of titanium scrap using plasma torches operating in an inert gas atmosphere, and a VAR arc furnace for further refining of titanium ingots obtained from the PAM furnace. The current contract is a continuation of this project. We will deliver a second VAR furnace, which will significantly increase the Partner’s processing capabilities,” said Earl Good, managing director of Retech.

The new furnace’s advantage is its perfect fit into the customer’s existing infrastructure. For safe operation, VAR furnaces require complex construction work: a bunker, an explosive tunnel, as well as a dedicated control room located outside the furnace operating area.

This system is unique because current solutions in the field of furnace safety will be implemented at the design stage. These solutions result from both the experience gained by EcoTitanium and the SECO/WARWICK Group’s experience.

“The delivery of this new VAR furnace will help us to secure our customer’s growing needs for producing titanium in the context of unprecedented production ramp-ups. We are pleased to open this new chapter of EcoTitanium’s history with our long-term partner SECO/WARWICK. SECO/WARWICK has indeed offered us best-in-class solutions in the field of vacuum metallurgy technology, in particular with its PAM systems from its Retech brand, which allows us to use around 75% of recycled materials and to divide by up to four the CO₂ emissions created by titanium melting,” says Jean-François Juéry, president of EcoTitanium.

Titanium, a transition metal with unique properties, is valued for its strength-to-weight ratio. It has comparable durability to steel but is 50% lighter, making it an attractive choice for industries looking for strength without additional weight. The aerospace industry consumes over 30% of global demand, and the chemical sector another 40%. Additionally, titanium has found use in medicine, especially in joint replacement procedures, dental implants, and electronics.

This press release is available in its original form here.

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