New research center dedicated to aluminium products of the future
The center will find new product areas for aluminium.
The unique collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) faculties in Trondheim, Ålesund and Gjøvik will research the application of aluminium in architecture, product design, materials technology and product development. We’re contributing to the five-year professorship that will support the creation of the NTNU Aluminium Product Innovation Center (NAPIC). The center will find new product areas for aluminium – a metal of the future, with practically limitless areas of application.
Collaborative og innovative
"The center will be a collaboration between NTNU, the aluminium industry and their customers. Doctoral students from the involved departments and faculties will work together on tasks relevant to the industrial partners associated with the center," says our Head of Technology, Hans Erik Vatne.
NAPIC will mostly involve the Department of Engineering Design and Materials, Department of Product Design, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Art. That means it will combine existing NTNU expertise in materials technology, modeling and processing, with creative thinking and a systematic approach to product innovation.
The metal of the future
"Aluminium is energy and knowledge in solid form, and Norway is already a world leader in research and innovation within our industry. This center will be in front of the search for new applications for aluminium," says Vatne.
Says NTNU rector Gunnar Bovim: "NTNU has a long tradition of research on aluminium and its applications. The professorship and NAPIC makes it possible to focus even more on a field that is important for Norway."
He adds that the response from various industrial companies, the interest organization Norsk Industri, and the Research Council of Norway has been all positive.