15th International Aluminium Conference | INALCO 2023

Rosa Galvez is an environmental engineer, an independent senator at the Senate of Canada, and President of the Parliamentary Network on Climate Change of ParlAmericas. She was a professor at Laval University for over 25 years and chaired its Civil and Water Engineering department from 2011 to 2017. She specializes in pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, sustainable development, municipal and hazardous waste, site remediation, impact assessment and climate risk to infrastructure.

Aluminium in a circular economy

Aluminium is more than just a resource; it is an absolutely critical component of human society and it will only grow in importance as we accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy. The Honourable Rosa Galvez, a pollution expert and Canadian Senator since 2016, will provide context surrounding her life experience as a woman from Peru practicing engineering and now politics in Canada as well as how Canada fares in the global fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation aims to provide insight on aluminium as an invaluable part of our life and economy in the context of climate change, environmental stewardship, a circular economy, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Vincent Christ has distinguished himself for over 35 years in the aluminum industry. Thanks to his strategic vision and academic career in engineering, he brilliantly oversaw the Technology and R&D organisations in the aluminium sector of Rio Tinto, managed large-scale investment projects and led various companies active in global equipment, materials and technology supply. Now at the helm of ELYSIS, Vincent Christ works to further develop a new disruptive ELYSIS™ smelting aluminum technology.

ELYSIS a Key Player in the Aluminum Decarbonization

ELYSIS is a joint venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto formed in 2018 with a mission to transform the aluminium industry with breakthrough technology where environmental and financial performance meet. Aluminium is a key material part of the transition to renewable energy. It is therefore important to develop breakthrough solutions enabling the decarbonization of the aluminium production and replacing carbon dioxide emissions by oxygen. ELYSIS is progressing at a fast pace towards this goal and is excited to provide an update of its journey.

Tao Wang currently holds the position of Technical Marketing Manager- Atlantic at Rio Tinto focusing on aluminum product development and customer technical support. Before joining Rio Tinto, he served as a chief metallurgist in the steel industry. He has over 10 years’ experience in product/market development and published more than 20 journal papers and 8 patents related to metal casting, rolling, and heat treatment. Tao holds a PhD degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Alabama, and a Bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Jiao Tong University in China.

The Future of Responsible Aluminium: Connecting the entire value chain

How can blockchain technology empower consumers to make more sustainable choices? Powered by blockchain technology, START provides transparency, traceability, and provenance across value chains so customers and end users can see key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. START tells the entire story—from mine to market—of sustainable materials from Rio Tinto, allowing users to prove to their stakeholders and customers that they share a commitment to sustainability.

Born between the rivers and the mountains in Beaupré, Quebec, Ferreol is a young company founded by three ski and outdoor enthusiasts. The company was created with a very specific objective in mind: to design and manufacture high-performance alpine skis that are more eco-responsible and adapted to Quebec winter conditions.

New aluminium-scandium alloy for high-performance alpine skis

In collaboration with Rio Tinto and the Centre de Métallurgie du Québec, Ferreol has succeeded in developing a new aluminum-scandium alloy that surpasses the properties of the industry's best performing materials. With this technology, the company hopes to revolutionize the alpine ski industry and create more efficient products, while minimizing the impact on the environment. Indeed, there has not been a major innovation in this sector for over 40 years. In addition, the alpine ski industry is currently plagued by major supply problems. What's more, the few materials that manufacturers are able to source do not meet the quality standards expected from the industry. Ferreol wants to change this with its new aluminum-scandium alloy.

New aluminium-scandium alloy for high-performance alpine skis

Conference presented with Philippe Gosselin

Geir Ringen is a professor at the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science (NTNU). He has spent 15 years at Sintef Manufacturing as an industrial researcher within the domain of manufacturing systems for production of aluminium products. Currently at NTNU he is heading the NAPIC centre (NTNU Aluminium Product Innovation Centre), with the objective to create more researched based and innovative high-value products from aluminium. He is also holding an adjunct professorship at Texas A&M. Research interest is mainly at boarder of manufacturing processes, product development and circular material flows.

Aluminium long span suspension bridges - ambitions, opportunities and challenges

Aluminium bridges in Norway are about non-existing except for some aluminium bridge decks for shorter bridges as replacement decks. However, in recent years the interest for aluminium in long span bridges has grown among the road authorities, industry and the municipalities and counties as bridge owners. A number of concepts have been developed and especially the Langenuen suspension bridge, with a span between the towers of 1200 meters, has been thoroughly investigated with regards to global stability, weight optimization, fatigue properties and manufacturing. This presentation will guide the audience through the concept, ambitions, opportunities and challenges.

Structural designer at WSP for the past 10 years, engineer Benoit Cusson has been involved in several complex structure projects involving movable bridges, the Olympic Stadium of Montreal and various aluminium vehicular and pedestrian bridges. Recognized for his ability to resolve complex issues with pragmatism, he developed new applications, construction details and normative contents to propel the use of aluminium in bridges. He is vice-chair of CSA S6 chapters 13 (movable bridges) and 17 (aluminum structures) and member of the working group developing the upcoming CSA S7 standard on pedestrian bridges.

10 Modern Applications and Construction Details for Aluminium Bridges

Canada’s bridge industry is witnessing a momentum for the use of aluminium in pedestrian and vehicular bridges. The speaker will guide the attendees through six years of developing tangible innovative aluminium details and structural arrangements. Various projects of different scales which will be presented include two architectural pony-truss pedestrian bridges, the first GMAW welded aluminium deck on steel girder vehicular bridge in Canada and a signature pedestrian bridge where an 80 m long through truss connects to a curved girder structure. Along the way, the development of a simple aluminium girder pedestrian bridge concept inspired an innovative composite structural system involving an FSW welded aluminum deck connected to longitudinal girders. These various projects generated code update propositions for the aluminium chapter of the CSA S6 standard. Featured topics relate to bolted connections for decks, barriers and truss chords, welded straight and curved girders, expansion joints, design for fatigue and fabrication. The context is ideal to reflect on the roadmap towards 100% aluminium vehicular bridges.

Born in Switzerland, Mr. Chappuis graduated with a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He has spent his entire career in automotive manufacturing, with an emphasis in computer modeling and aluminum auto body sheet (ABS). At Ford Motor Company, he spent 30 years as the expert on aluminum ABS, culminating with the aluminum intensive 2015 F-150. Since retiring from Ford, Mr. Chappuis has worked as a consultant on aluminum ABS projects worldwide.

Aluminum Auto Body Sheet in North America after the 2015 Ford F-150

The presentation will explore some of the forces both driving and limiting the use of aluminum auto body sheet (ABS). Some of the topics will include the competitive situation, the manufacturing environment, the impact of scrap recycling, and some considerations on potential differences between EV start-ups and established OEMs. It will follow with a short review of current applications, both won and lost. Finally, the presentation will conclude by offering some thoughts about the future, using the same parameters outlined in the introduction.