The Vasa Museum has chosen the Swedish speciality steel company Alleima, headquartered in Sandviken in Sweden, as its key partner in the Support Vasa project. Alleima brings unique expertise and is sponsoring the Vasa Museum with all the steel needed for the ship's new internal support structure.
To preserve Vasa for the future, the ship needs a new support structure to help it bear its own weight and prevent movements that damage the hull. Alleima is serving as a proud sponsor, contributing both expertise and material for the new support structure. The Support Vasa project is the Vasa Museum’s biggest challenge since the ship was salvaged and preserved over 60 years ago. After many years of research, development work, project design, construction and advanced testing, the warship Vasa will now be given an internal steel skeleton that will, among other things, reduce the movements in its hull.
Durable support
The support structure is made of an advanced stainless steel with exceptional strength and very high resistance to corrosion: SAF™ 2507 super-duplex, produced in Sandviken in Sweden. The material not only helps to preserve the ship, but is also sustainably produced using 100 percent fossil-free electricity and consists of 80 percent recycled steel.
“With the unique properties of the material and the materials expertise available at Alleima, we will not have to make as many holes in Vasa’s hull as would otherwise have been needed. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration,” says Magnus Olofsson, project director of Support Vasa.
With the specialised knowledge and advanced steel that Alleima brings to the project, the collaboration makes it possible to produce an internal skeleton that is lighter than originally envisaged.
The work with Vasa’s support structure is expected to be completed in 2028, just in time for the ship's 400th anniversary.
Long collaboration
Alleima and the Vasa Museum have a long history of collaboration. In 2011, the Vasa Museum and Alleima embarked on a long-term research and development project to replace more than 5,000 rusty bolts on the warship Vasa. The development project resulted in both a new, more suitable design and lighter bolts. Replacing the bolts reduced the weight of the ship by around eight tonnes, or the weight of a full-grown elephant, and helped prevent further damage to the wood.
About Alleima
Alleima is a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as solutions for industrial heating. Based on long-term customer partnerships and leading materials technology, we develop products for the most demanding applications and industries.
Alleima’s fully integrated value chain, from R&D to end-product, ensures industry-leading technology, quality, sustainability, and circularity. Headquartered in Sandviken, Sweden, Alleima has 6 500 employees in 80 countries.
For more information about Alleima, please visit Alleima's website.
