Our R&D center and services

At our leading Voreppe (France) research center (CRV), Constellium’s team of more than 170 specialists supports our business by developing lightweight aluminium products. We co-create solutions with customers, providing technological and analytical services.

Innovation as a source of growth

The CRV is our world-renowned leading R&D facility dedicated to aluminium and its alloys. It is a key contributor to numerous aluminium metallurgy innovations, including the design of new alloys, metallurgical tempers, products, functional applications, transformation and enabling processes.

Our research center aims to:

leverage cutting-edge R&D practices to deliver a stream of sustainable, innovative, value-added solutions,
develop options for future business growth,
maintain technology networks in our key, shared products and processes (recycling, casting, fabrication) to ensure best-practice sharing and excellent knowledge and talent management.

Developing new customer solutions

The center’s full-scale facilities provide the ideal venue to enable us to develop new solutions that meet customer needs. It plays host to a team of approximately 85 international scientists and 87 technicians, all with unique competencies, and has a top-level international university network.

Reflecting the markets we serve, the center has established multidisciplinary teams dedicated to research and innovation in our core business activities.

Aerospace and Transportation: plates, sheets and extrusions for aerospace - plates and sheets for marine, road and rail transportation, mechanical engineering.
Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products: can stock, closures for packaging - automotive body sheets and heat exchanger sheets - foil stock - special surfaces, such as bright sheets for lighting and solar energy.
Automotive Structure and Industry: automotive (crash management systems, extrusions) - transportation - industry - building.

Open to industry third parties

Our outstanding research and development resources are also open to third parties. CRV Services is an initiative that offers the center’s expertise and resources to support projects requiring multiple capabilities and disciplines:

Material characterization and analysis
Production of metallurgical prototypes
Material design and modeling assistance
Corrosion study and treatment
Thermal treatment
Mechanical testing
Forming
Joining
Surface treatment

With our help, customers can access characterization and numerical simulation equipment and unique prototyping facilities, backed by world‑class expertise. Our equipment can be used to design, test and model high‑performance materials and processes, from the nano- to the macroscopic scale. They can benefit from support ranging from technical assistance to metallurgical prototyping. Customers can also access training programs and our extensive library of resources.

The CRV Services offer thus helps customers design and produce cost-effective materials, perfectly adapted to their needs.

Find out more about CRV Services

Key-fact

Constellium’s R&D team is made up of top-class experts.