6K Additive Receives Sustainability Award

6K Additive, a producer of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing and energy storage, is the winner of the AMGTA Environmental Sustainability Research Award. The award recognizes members who have published directly commissioned research focused on environmental sustainability in additive manufacturing (AM). At this event, AMGTA presented awards in three key areas: sustainability research, reporting and management — all of which are the focus of the AMGTA organization.

“Sustainability is at the core of who we are as an organization at 6K Additive,” says Frank Roberts, 6K Additive president. “The results of the recent independent life cycle assessment revealed our UniMelt process for nickel production reduces carbon by 92% while using 91% less energy to do so. In publishing results such as this, we are showing the additive manufacturing industry, in a very transparent way, that there is a more environmentally friendly way to manufacture AM powder while enabling our customers to lower their carbon footprint.”

AMGTA is a noncommercial, unaffiliated organization formed to promote the environmental benefits of AM. The AMGTA seeks to educate the public and industry about these positive environmental benefits, promote the adoption of AM as an alternative to traditional manufacturing, develop best practices for AM and help the organization’s members grow their businesses and acquire new customers.

6K Additive’s mission is to provide a solution for global decarbonization in the production of performance AM powders, critical to production in markets such as aerospace, medical and industrial applications. According to the company, 6K Additive is the world’s first producer of AM powder made from sustainable sources and offers a full suite of powder including nickel, titanium, copper and refractory metals — such as tungsten and rhenium.

6K Additive says its UniMelt system is the world’s only microwave production-scale plasma system. It is said to have a highly uniform and precise plasma zone with zero contamination and high throughput production capabilities.