RESEARCH NEWS
Magnesium for lightweight roles
Despite being lighter than aluminium, magnesium has been little utilised by industry to date as its processing into components is considered to be quite complex and energy-intensive.
However, after three years of research, a team from various departments at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, with industrial partners, has developed and tested an end-to-end process chain for lightweight magnesium components( from the melt to the functional prototype). Energy requirements and CO₂ emissions were reduced across all process steps— including through the use of hydrogen in the melting and heating technology, shortened processes and a cold-formable magnesium alloy.
Among other things, the research alliance has produced lightweight magnesium computer housings, rail seat backs for highspeed trains such as the TGV, hinge parts for transport containers and an airflow channel for a hovercraft rescue vehicle.
“ Our goal was to make magnesium usable as an industrial lightweight material through innovative and faster production processes,” said Professor Ulrich Prahl from the Institute of Metal Forming at TU Bergakademie Freiberg( the Technical University of Mining and Technology in Freiberg, Germany).
Technologies and processes
Starting with sheet metal production, the team at the Institute of Metal Forming at TU Bergakademie Freiberg relies on innovative processes.“ The casting rollers used already enable the production of magnesium sheets with thicknesses of around five millimetres. This means that downstream forming steps can be reduced,” it confirmed.
The result is magnesium components that are around one third lighter than common aluminium solutions, while retaining comparable strength. This means that the potential of magnesium as a lightweight material can be better utilised in the future( e. g. in e-mobility, mechanical and vehicle engineering or medical technology).
As the first component of the new manufacturing process, the researchers developed technologies that can replace fossil fuels with up to one hundred-per-cent, climate-neutral hydrogen.
Professor Ulrich Prahl.
Main building, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany.
“ Converting the melting and heating processes to hydrogen and making them more energy-efficient is a key step towards producing magnesium in a climate-neutral and more cost-effective way,” added Professor Hartmut Krause from the Chair of Gas and Thermal Engineering at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.“ Digital twins help us to better understand the processes and, above all, to improve them during operation.”
A second lever is the significantly shortened process route. The team relies on the casting-rolling process integrated at the Institute of Metal Forming to quickly convert the liquid magnesium melt into a preliminary product. The heat from the casting heat is utilised directly for forming, resulting in sheets or wires that already have almost the desired component shape. Energy and timeconsuming downstream process steps can therefore be reduced.
For wire production, the research team also developed the GieWaCon process, which combines wire casting rolling with the CONFORM™ process. The latter is already established for materials such as copper and was applied to magnesium for the first time in the project. The magnesium wires produced in the project achieved a final diameter of 1.6mm, either directly using the CONFORM™ process or through subsequent wire drawing.
Demonstrators from the CLEAN-Mag project.
In addition, the project shows that the principle of the shortened process route can also be transferred to other forming processes. For example, the magnesium alloy used was successfully forged; the resulting components were reworked immediately after forming, for example by deburring or milling. In addition, an industrial partner developed an extrusion process in which billets are first
Professor Hartmut Krause. cast and then extruded from the casting heat. The resulting tube is cut and bent open so that workable sheets can be produced( without additional heating steps).
The third component used is the calciumcontaining magnesium alloy ZAX210. According to the research team, it can be processed well( even at comparatively low forming temperatures of around 200 ° C) and still guarantees stable mechanical properties.
“ The magnesium alloy allows us to achieve forming processes at significantly lower temperatures without compromising on the component properties,” explained Professor Ulrich Prahl.
Suitable surface coatings were also investigated for all prototypes to ensure corrosion resistance and usability of the magnesium components under real conditions. In addition, the project team analysed and optimised various welding processes, which were specifically adapted to the magnesium alloy used and further developed for the respective demonstrators.
Looking ahead
Together with the industrial partners from the project, the team wishes to continue to advance the developed manufacturing routes in the future and apply them to other components and shaping processes.
A CO₂ calculator, which companies can use to compile and compare possible process chains for the forming of magnesium, has been specially developed in the project( CLEAN-Mag App: reducing emissions in industrial processes). n
https:// tu-freiberg. de / en
www. clean-mag. de /
ISMR March 2026 | ismr. net | 19