Method for Forming Transition Metal Alloys

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

Method for Forming Transition Metal Alloys

For metals industry members who are dissatisfied with the time-consuming and cost of current melting processes. This technology is a new method of forming a transition metal alloy that provides an inexpensive and versatile process.

Opportunity:   Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this process for forming transition metal alloys.  

Overview:        This technology is a method of forming a transition metal alloy. Metal alloys and coatings are currently being manufactured either by an energy-intensive melting process or a multi-step and time-consuming melting process. This approach offers initial steps towards developing a highly inexpensive manufacturing process for an array of engineering alloys and alloy coatings. The versatility of the new process lies in coating a variety of substrate materials, both metallic and non-metallic, including complex geometries.

Description:    This technology is a method of forming a transition metal alloy, such as a refractory metal alloy. The transition metal alloy is fabricated from a mixed oxide intermediate. Oxide precursors of the mixed oxide intermediate may be prepared by air sintering or by heating in a reductive environment. An inert metal wire of a first metal may be reacted with a reduced metal of a second metal, such as at a cathode, to form the transition metal alloy in situ. The refractory metal alloy may be used as a coating on a substrate or as a bulk alloy. The coating of the transition metal alloy may be prepared by reacting in situ the transition metal of a transition metal oxide with the metal or other element of the substrate.

Benefits:          Benefits include:

• More cost-effective
• Reduced carbon footprint
• Less harmful to environment
• Versatile to a variety of substrate materials

Applications:   Applications include:

• Metal Industry
• Metal Coatings
• Metal Powders
• Structural Materials
• Corrosion Coating
• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Biomedical (such as orthopedic)

Development Status:  Experiments have been performed, showing critical function and proof-of-concept.

IP Status:        US Patent Application No. 62/887,436, “Methods of Forming a Metal Alloy, Methods of Forming Rare Earth Elements, and Methods of Recovering a Metal from a Waste Material,” BEA Docket No. BA-1053

INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Kala Majeti at td@inl.gov or 248-877-8866.