Italian additive manufacturer Valland, together with the Politecnico di Torino, the Politecnico di Bari, and the Fontana Group, has confirmed under Italy’s Accordi per l’Innovazione-backed ToZero project that recycled automotive aluminum scrap can be turned into powder suitable for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), cutting a demonstrator part’s carbon footprint, though a lingering print-speed gap shows the technology isn’t quite ready for industrial scale.
Building the Demonstrator: A Structural Node Called “Voletto”
Valland handled the additive manufacturing side of the work, which meant two things: tuning LB-PBF parameters for reclaimed AA5083 powder, and using that powder to build something real. The result was the “Voletto,” a structural connecting node modeled on a component from an automotive body. Printing the recycled alloy produced no hot cracking, and the part’s mechanical strength and ductility landed within the ranges the project had targeted going in.
Design optimization played a role too, topology work trimmed the part’s mass from an initial 1.68 kg toward a target of 0.8 kg. An ISO 14040/44-compliant life-cycle assessment credited the optimized production process with cutting the component’s carbon footprint by about 73%, a key reduction that strengthens the argument for recycled feedstock in additive manufacturing supply chains.
But Valland was candid about a limitation that could shape how quickly this approach scales: recycled AA5083 still prints markedly slower than commercial AlSi10Mg, a widely used aluminum alloy in industrial LPBF. The company described the balance between material quality and productivity as the real problem to solve before industrial deployment becomes viable, framing print speed as the remaining barrier to commercial-scale adoption.
Closing the Loop Before Scaling It
Valland’s ToZero work fits a broader push in additive manufacturing to source feedstock from waste streams rather than virgin material, betting that recycled metal powder can eventually match commercial-grade alloys on both performance and cost.
Other players in the additive space are chasing similar ambitions. For instance, 6K Additive’s recycling of metal powder runs through a long-term agreement with Siemens Energy, converting spent nickel alloy powder into new material through its UniMelt process, with sustainable sourcing positioned as a core differentiator rather than a side initiative.
A second parallel comes from Continuum Powders’ Melt-to-Powder process that transforms reclaimed aerospace-grade scrap into powder that meets strict cleanliness and particle-shape standards. The company recently applied that process to recover thousands of kilograms of nickel scrap from a turbine servicing facility.
Whether the feedstock is automotive aluminum or aerospace nickel superalloy, the pattern holds: recycled powder is being pushed toward parity with virgin material, one qualified use case at a time.
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Featured image shows turning aluminium scrap into additive manufacturing feedstock. Photo via Valland.
