October 14, 2026, Gothenburg, Sweden: Freemelt announced that it has received a prototype order from a defense company operating in Sweden as part of a feasibility study agreement between the two parties. The study focuses on additive manufacturing of refractory metal components for defense applications, including the production of parts with various geometries for testing and evaluation. The agreement aims to explore how additive manufacturing can support the development and future production of qualified refractory metal components in the defense sector, assess how the combination of digital design, advanced materials, and additive manufacturing can improve component performance, and establish a scalable, efficient, and resilient manufacturing foundation. Freemelt CEO Daniel Gidlund stated that the study goes beyond verifying whether existing components can be produced with additive manufacturing; it is about exploring ways to combine the three to optimize component performance and shorten development cycles. Freemelt's core technology is E-PBF (electron beam powder bed fusion), and it provides both production systems and manufacturing services for fields such as medical, defense, and fusion. In September, the company had just received a batch order for tungsten components from Fusion for Energy for one of the world's most advanced fusion research facilities; this defense order further consolidates its position in high-end refractory metal applications. Value for powder buyers: ① The defense and fusion lines continue to generate demand for refractory metal powders (tungsten, tantalum, niobium, and their alloys), with attention to sphericity and batch consistency specifications; ② the E-PBF process route has different requirements for powder characteristics compared with LPBF, allowing targeted development of suitable grades; ③ orders in the early feasibility study stage are small in volume, but they map out the long-term threshold for qualified supplier qualifications.