FairTools

New tools for production without cobalt and tungsten

Production tools are predominantly made from hard‑metal—a tungsten carbide and cobalt alloy. Both minerals are scarce raw materials that pose serious ecological and social challenges. Cobalt mining is frequently carried out under unsustainable working and health conditions. Public debate has so far focused mainly on the use of cobalt in lithium‑ion batteries for electric vehicles, while the use of tungsten carbide and cobalt in production tools remains outside public scrutiny. The FairTools project systematically addresses this research gap.

Research Approach & Project Objectives

The goal of FairTools is to replace tungsten carbide and cobalt in industrial tooling as far as possible. For applications where a technical substitution of these minerals is not feasible, the establishment of a closed material cycle will be pursued. Existing hard‑metal recycling processes are optimized both technically and logistically. These measures aim to reduce the required material input by at least 50 %.

Project Team

The interdisciplinary FairTools project team at the RPTU University Kaiserslautern brings together expertise from production technology, materials science & engineering, mechanical engineering, and materials physics—contributing to holistic solutions.