SUMMSEED stands for SUstainable Medium Manganese StEEls for cost-efficient applications in heavy inDustries. It is a European project funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) that focuses on developing medium-Mn steels tailored to the industrial conditions of casting and remanufacturing by directed energy deposition (DED) using laser-wire additive manufacturing technology. 

  • This project represents an integrated approach covering from steel design to real-world validation. The collaborative workflow links alloy design, feedstock production, casting, and DED to component quality validation. This roadmap is assisted by microstructural and mechanical testing, as well as advanced laboratory and in situ synchrotron characterization.
  • The developed alloy is expected to enable more efficient and sustainable applications in heavy industry, such as mining, by offering improved service performance compared to conventional Hadfield steels, particularly in low to medium load conditions. Thus, it will enable more sustainable production by reducing the alloying elements and the reuse of end-of-life parts.
  • The project is led by the Technical University of Catalonia · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and includes additional industrial, technological and academic partners covering the entire value chain. These include SANDVIK, specialized in mining products; SIDENOR, a steel maker producer; MELTIO, an industrial provider of laser-wire metal additive manufacturing DED systems; and academic and research partners as Delft University of Technology (TUDELFT), CIM UPC and TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF).

Barcelona / Linares (Spain).- April, 27th, 2026.- Companies in the mining and heavy machinery sectors have long demanded a new type of steel: one that is environmentally sustainable, offers properties comparable to those of currently used steels, and meets industrial requirements for quality and cost. Metal additive manufacturing technology, which uses welding wire to create and repair parts layer-by-layer, has addressed this demand. Today, an international project that will create a more sustainable steel with lower greenhouse gas emissions footprint than current steels manufactured using traditional techniques is being announced. 

This is the SUMMSEED project, a collaboration between academic and technological partners with private companies specialized in the steel sector. The scientific partners are responsible for validating and certifying the properties of the new sustainable steel being manufactured by SANDVIK and for applying the metal additive manufacturing technology by wire from MELTIO, a Spanish multinational manufacturer of 3D metal printing solutions for industries around the world. 

SUMMSEED starts from alloy design and laboratory testing expanding up to pilot plant casting trials and the repair of real cone crusher components—laying the foundations for a circular, low-carbon steel ecosystem that keeps high-value parts in service for longer.

The project will develop a medium-Mn steel (MMns) that reduces emissions in manufacturing and repair by minimizing the use of critical alloying elements and using additive manufacturing. The new alloys are expected to show a good combination of strength, toughness, and wear resistance for heavy-industry applications. It will be adapted to industrial casting and remanufacturing processes through 3D printing (using the disruptive LW-DED industrial metal 3D printing technology), offering a more sustainable and cost-efficient alternative to traditional steels. The Mn reduction content supports European policies to reduce dependence on critical raw materials.

SUMMSEED represents the first approach to transferring MMnS metallurgy to industrially relevant conditions using highly applicable near-net shape techniques, with industrial mining equipment as the demonstrator.

Pere Barriobero Vila, coordinator of the SUMMSEED project at UPC in Barcelona, says that “It is expected that this novel material will render an improved service performance than the currently used Hadfield steels enabling a more sustainable production by reducing alloying elements and the reuse of end-of-life parts. By tailoring alloys for both casting and directed energy deposition (DED) remanufacturing, the project aims to replace traditional Hadfield steels with leaner, more cost-efficient grades that offer high strength, toughness and wear resistance while reducing CO₂ emissions and the use of critical raw material. From casting to DED repair, the project enables a complete circular process that extends component lifespan and minimizes material waste and environmental impact.”

The Technical University of Catalonia · BarcelonaTech (UPC) coordinates the project and provides expertise in alloy design, advanced characterization, linking fundamental metallurgy to industrial needs. The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration that provides experience and capabilities from the partners throughout the entire manufacturing route: from alloy design, raw material production, manufacturing processes such as casting as well as wire production and DED, to component quality validation, guided by laboratory characterisation and advanced synchrotron characterisation.

CIM UPC provides expertise in digital and additive manufacturing. SIDENOR is in charge of industrial steel manufacturing and its quality validation, The Technical University of Freiberg (TUBAF) contributes to modelling, metal forming and wire feedstock production for additive manufacturing. The Delft University of Technology (TUDELFT) provides expertise in simulation and material kinetics for steel development. SANDVIK will develop the product demonstrators and testing upscaling TRL. As technology provider for laser-based DED, MELTIO contributes to DED equipment, process development and novel know-how for remanufacturing. Recently, all project members gathered for an engaging kick-off at the UPC. 

The project team provides industrially-oriented knowledge, processing guidelines and demonstrators up to pilot plant testing to help steelmakers, technology providers and end users to adopt sustainable products and circular processing routes with lower risk and faster time-to-market:

  • Sustainable alloy design: access to validated steel concepts that balance performance, cost and sustainability.
  • Casting & Directed energy deposition: the industry can benefit from process optimization, best-practise recommendations and quality criteria under realistic conditions.
  • Use-case oriented research: SUMMSEED develops and tests cone-crusher components, providing real performance data on wear, impact resistance and lifetime extension in demanding mining conditions.

SUMMSEED responds to the need of satisfying the high-volume production and repair of steel parts in the mining industry, aiming to reduce the lead time and total lifecycle costs of equipment while contributing to environmental sustainability.

Remanufacturing worn, or damaged Mn steel parts by DED will be pioneered, by developing dedicated DED material feedstock, extending their service life and promoting resource conservation.

To maximise industrial uptake, the SUMMSEED consortium offers practical guidelines, workshops and direct engagement with companies to support the implementation of project results in real production environments. At the same time, its findings and assessments provide valuable input for policymakers and standardisation bodies, helping to shape frameworks that recognise and promote circular, low-carbon steel solutions.

About Meltio: 

Meltio takes metal additive manufacturing to the next level by developing high-performance, affordable, and easy-to-use metal 3D printing solutions using wire-laser metal deposition technology. The company’s mission is to delight customers, partners, and employees by pioneering the development of affordable metal 3D printing systems that are reliable, safe, and powerful, continually reinforcing their status as disruptors.