Students from Birmingham City University (www.bcu.ac.uk) have visited Birmingham Airport to showcase the potential uses of magnesium in the travel and aerospace sector.

This is part of a challenge set by the university and Nottinghamshire-based Meridian Lightweight Technologies (MLTUK) — the world’s largest producer of high-pressure die-cast magnesium components — to alter widespread perceptions of magnesium.

It is intended that a magnesium sculpture will eventually go on public display at the airport, to be seen by over 13 million passengers each year.

At 1.8g/cm³, magnesium is the lightest of all structural materials; it is also the eighth most abundant chemical element in the Earth’s crust and is 100% recyclable.

However, misconceptions about its properties mean that designers are more likely to use less sustainable and heavier metals. This is despite the recent lifting of a long-standing ban on the use of high-pressure magnesium die-casting in aircraft seat construction.

Andy Holding, Birmingham Airport’s corporate responsibility manager, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this project, which brings together innovation, education and support for the local economy.”

Birmingham City University and Meridian agreed a strategic partnership last year to promote the use of magnesium use, and they joined forces for an inaugural magnesium symposium at the university’s city centre campus in Birmingham.