Scandium Canada Ltd. has provided an update on its Scandium+ division's efforts to advance industrial adoption of proprietary aluminum-scandium alloys. The company has commissioned the Centre de Metallurgie du Quebec to produce wires using two proprietary Al-Sc alloy formulations for welding and Wire Additive Advanced Manufacturing trials, with work expected to complete by March 2026 and prototypes submitted for third-party end-user testing.
The company estimates these applications could generate demand for up to 30 tonnes per year of scandium oxide, addressing a market segment that currently doesn't exist. This work builds on findings from a Productique Quebec study announced in October 2025 and is supported by grants from the CQRDA, of which the company is a member. For reference, the company's Crater Lake Project is expected to produce 91 tonnes per year of scandium oxide.
Scandium Canada is collaborating with Gränges Powder Metallurgy to trial modified AA535 and AA7075 alloys into GPM's product offerings. GPM, a wholly owned subsidiary of global aluminum technology company Gränges, is a global supplier of sprayformed aluminum products and aluminum powders for additive manufacturing. Through in-kind support from Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program, the company has received a technical report from experts at the National Research Council of Canada's Additive Manufacturing Division to identify materials qualification strategies for adopting its alloys in space, aerospace, and defense applications.
The company is actively expanding outreach to industrial end users across aerospace, automotive, advanced manufacturing, and 3D printing segments, building on a Productique Quebec report that identified 13 target applications including welding wires, aircraft ducting, and heat exchangers. The company's two proprietary alloys and their fabrication method, developed with McMaster University, are protected by an international patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty on September 17, 2025, building on an initial provisional patent application filed with the USPTO in September 2024.
Technical results reported in September 2025 showed the modified AA535 and AA7075 alloys offer a practical solution to eliminating micro-cracking in high-strength aluminum alloys during laser powder-bed fusion processing, with implications for aluminum welding and WAAM. Key attributes include reduced scandium content while maintaining grain-refining effect, broad processing window with relative densities above 99%, ultimate tensile strengths of approximately 330 to 380 MPa in the as-built state with 17–25% increases after heat treatment, and minimized defect density through proprietary blending procedures.
Dr. Luc Duchesne, Head of Scandium+ division and Chief Science Officer, stated the company aims to find the shortest pathways for commercialization through co-development opportunities with industrial users and increasing understanding of alloy properties to meet specific technical requirements. CEO Guy Bourassa added that confirmation of commercial acceptance of the alloys represents an important milestone for the Crater Lake project development, as it will confirm markets, volumes, and pricing to support the financial model of the pre-feasibility study due in June 2026.
