Metal 3D printing company Aurora Labs, located in Perth suburb Bibra Lake, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swedish industrial company, Gränges AB.
The MoU was signed by subsidiary of Aurora Labs, A3D Operations.
If the proposed transactions were entered into, the value to Aurora could be US$ 7.75 million ($11 billion).
The agreement creates a pathway to future purchases that may relate to an Aurora RMP-1 Rapid Manufacturing Printer. In turn Gränges would supply its proprietary aluminium powder to Aurora.
“This is a remarkable relationship for Aurora and we are very pleased to partner with Gränges, a forward thinking and innovative company with products extensively placed across the automotive sector,” said Aurora’s managing director David Budge.
Research and development between Aurora and Gränges is further facilitated through the MoU. Areas could include projects that use aluminium in additive manufacturing and market research to understand the opportunities for aluminium use in additive manufacturing across the automotive industry, both internal combustion engines and electric vehicles, and other industries.
The MoU is operative for the next five years and requires both companies to enter into constructive negotiations with a view to entering formal agreements. What terms the future transactions take will be determined in the future.
“Aurora is expecting to see enormous growth in additive manufacturing through the automotive sector in coming years,” said Budge.
Currently, Aurora, listed on NASDAQ Stockholm, employs 1800 people and has a market capitalisation as of July 3 of $1.2 billion.
The ASX listed Aurora Labs has garnered attention for its Multi-layer Concurrent Printing technology, which can print multiple layers of metal 3D parts in a single pass. In February, the company announced that it had achieved speeds of 113kg per day, which according to Aurora Labs is 55 times faster than the general market speed.
The agreement with Gränges marks the next step for the commercialisation of the Rapid Manufacturing Printer, which was first successfully live tested in May 1.