Rusal America to locate aluminium powder business at Neighborhood 91
April 1, 2021
Neighborhood 91, the Additive Manufacturing production campus at Pittsburgh’s International Airport Innovation Campus, USA, is reported to be the home for Rusal America’s new aluminium AM powders business announced earlier this year.
Rusal America, headquartered in Rye Brook, New York, and a subsidiary of Russia’s EN+ Group, will use its new facility for powder storage, joining other AM companies committed to the Neighborhood 91 concept.
“By enabling sustainable operations, Neighborhood 91 is an ideal location from which to expand our presence in the AM powders market without compromising on our core sustainability principles,” stated C. Brian Hesse, Rusal America president and CEO. “We remain committed to enabling our customers to play a vital role in the sustainability value chain and to playing an active role in the innovation ecosystem at Neighborhood 91 in the years ahead.”
Paul Hoback, the airport authority’s chief development officer, described Rusal America’s commitment as “another important step in the evolution of Additive Manufacturing” at Neighborhood 91. “We are thrilled to welcome Rusal America as the latest partner, further demonstrating the viability of Neighborhood 91 and the success of its ecosystem as a first-of-its-kind AM powerhouse.”
En+ Group, based in Moscow, describes itself as the biggest and lowest-cost producer of aluminium outside of China and one of the largest clean energy businesses in the world. It recently announced that it hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its business platform by at least 35% by 2030 and to reach zero net by 2050.
Neighborhood 91, the Rusal America announcement stated, would help in those efforts in part through co-location of capital resources, the on-site recycling of inert gases, and the airport’s new microgrid.
The airport authority sees the 195-acre campus, located just west of the midfield terminal, as a development that brings together at one spot all elements of the Additive Manufacturing supply chain, lowering costs and boosting production.
Wabtec Corporation is scheduled to move into a recently constructed 1000 m2 facility in the coming weeks and will be the first anchor tenant at Neighborhood 91.
The other major tenant to commit to Neighborhood 91 is Lehigh County-based Arencibia, which has signed a letter of intent to build a new plant to supply and recycle argon and other gases used in the Additive Manufacturing process.
