Fonderia 2a S.p.A

Organization Overview

2A S.p.A. is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of aluminium castings via High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC), operating a state-of-the-art fleet of melting furnaces. Based in Italy, the company integrates innovative technologies into aluminium melting to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. As part of a hard-to-abate industrial sector, 2A actively explores decarbonisation pathways and aligns its strategy with emerging climate goals.

Project Contribution

As the end user in the H2AL project, 2A S.p.A. will carry out a large-scale demonstration of a 0-100% hydrogen combustion system in an aluminium melting furnace. The company will evaluate new burner technologies, refractory materials, sensors, and retrofit strategies for integrating hydrogen fuel. Additionally, 2A will support safety protocol development in collaboration with Nippon Gases and define KPIs with TEC to assess product quality.

Goals

2A’s goals in the project include:

Demonstrating the technical and environmental feasibility of hydrogen-fueled melting in the HPDC process.
Achieving significant CO₂ emissions reductions while maintaining product quality.
Positioning itself as an early producer of low-carbon aluminium casting parts.
Collecting and analyzing key performance data to validate the hydrogen technologies developed.

Key Expertise

2A contributes extensive capabilities to the H2AL project, including:

Cutting-edge melting furnace infrastructure.
Operational knowledge of aluminium smelting and High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC).
Expertise in recycled aluminium processing and metallurgical analysis.
Past efforts in decarbonisation through thermal insulation, combustion control, and material efficiency.

Challenges and Solutions

The transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen poses technical uncertainties in melting dynamics and product quality. To address this, 2A will generate operational data through real-scale demonstrations. This data will reduce risk and support BER’s development of best practices. Collaboration with other partners ensures a holistic assessment of both technical and non-technical integration challenges.