The Ohio State University and Audubon Metals entered into a licensing agreement to advance commercialization of technology that could increase manufacturing usage of recycled aluminum alloys that cost half as much and require a fraction of the energy of mined alloys.

An OSU research team developed a way to produce secondary (recycled) aluminum alloys that meet the high standards of structural die-casting applications. The automotive industry only uses primary aluminum produced from mining and smelting for structural applications because secondary aluminum alloys include contaminants like iron that can result in inferior mechanical properties. However, the technology neutralizes iron contamination in typical scrap aluminum. In addition, secondary aluminum alloys are up to 50% less expensive and use only a fraction of the energy compared to mined aluminum. 

With locations in Kentucky and Texas, Audubon Metals is a nonferrous metals recycler and secondary aluminum smelter that specializes in manufacturing custom alloys for die-casting applications.