\n\tThe European Space Agency, Paris, has joined forces with other leading research institutions and more than 180 European companies in a billion-euro effort to develop new types of metals and manufacturing techniques. ![\"http:\/\/phys.org\/openx\/www\/delivery\/lg.php?bannerid=12&campaignid=8&zoneid=64&loc=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fphys.org%2Fnews%2F2014-09-europe-age-metals.html&cb=373e918668\"](\"file:\/\/\/C:\/Users\/mwhunt\/AppData\/Local\/Temp\/msohtmlclip1\/01\/clip_image001.gif\")
Known as Metallurgy Europe, the seven-year international program goal is to develop the technical foundations for the discovery of new materials \u2013 metallic compounds, alloys, composites, superconductors, and semiconductors. The photo shows a bismuth crystal, such as those used in thermoelectric compounds and special bearing alloys.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe various branches of the metals-related industry today account for 46% of the EU’s manufacturing value and 11% of its total Gross Domestic Product \u2013 equivalent to $1.7 trillion annually or $4.5 billion daily. Metallurgy Europe is conservatively projected to create at least 100,000 new jobs, based on the ten million people today employed by the metals and end-user industries across the EU plus Switzerland and Norway.<\/span><\/p>\n \n\tOrganized along 13 topics, the potential results include novel heat-resistant alloys for space and nuclear systems, high-efficiency power lines based on superconducting alloys, thermoelectric materials converting waste heat into power, new catalysts for the production of plastics and pharmaceuticals, bio-compatible metals for medical implants, as well as high-strength magnetic systems.<\/p>\n