Advanced Metal Upcycling with ShAPETM: A Manufacturing Breakthrough from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT
🔗 Register now
Join the U.S. Department of Energy for a National Lab Discovery Series webinar featuring ShAPETM (Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion), an award-winning advanced manufacturing technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
This session will focus on one of ShAPE's newest and most promising applications: upcycling aluminum scrap and other lower-cost feedstocks into high-performance materials through solid-phase processing. Unlike conventional manufacturing approaches that rely on melting, ShAPE processes materials in the solid state which offers a pathway to transform lower-value feedstocks into high-value products ShAPE enables manufacturers to produce high-performance materials more efficiently while lowering manufacturing costs and strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Attendees will also receive an overview of the broader ShAPE platform and its applications across automotive manufacturing, electricity generation and transmission, buildings and construction, oil and gas, aerospace, national security, and other advanced manufacturing sectors.
What You’ll Learn:
- How ShAPE uses solid-phase processing to transform scrap feedstocks into high-performance materials without conventional melting
- How manufacturers can upcycle aluminum scrap into high-strength aluminum alloys to reduce reliance on imported primary aluminum
- How the technology improves manufacturing efficiency while reducing processing time and manufacturing costs
- How ShAPE enables the use of lower-cost, domestically sourced feedstocks to produce high-performance materials
- How companies can evaluate licensing and partnership opportunities with PNNL
- Live Q&A with the ShAPE research and technology transfer teams
Who Should Join:
- R&D directors and advanced manufacturing leaders
- Metals producers, recyclers, and materials processing companies
- Automotive, aerospace, construction, and industrial manufacturing companies
- Product development teams evaluating more efficient and lower-cost manufacturing methods
- Technology scouts, business development professionals, and IP managers interested in licensing advanced manufacturing technologies
Featured Speaker: Dr. Scott Whalen
Dr. Scott Whalen joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2012. He is chief scientist in the Applied Materials and Manufacturing group, where he leads the Thermomechanical Processing team and develops solid-phase processing techniques for manufacturing novel materials. Within his research teams, they investigate alloys of aluminum, magnesium, copper, titanium, and bismuth-telluride primarily using Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™). He is passionate about inventing new technologies that convert domestic scrap metals into high-performance products to secure the supply chain for critical materials and reduce our reliance on foreign sources. As evidenced in his substantial intellectual property portfolio comprising 23 granted U.S. patents and 13 pending patents. His distinctions as the NAI/OTC Innovator of the Year (2026), Battelle Distinguished Inventor (2026) and PNNL Inventor of the Year (2023).
Prior to PNNL, he was a staff scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, where he performed research and development on radioisotope thermoelectric generators.