Magnesium-lithium to see wider adoption in laptop market

Citing a COO of a supplier of light metals, DigiTimes reports magnesium-lithium alloy is expected to see broader adoption in the laptop market. The metal alloy enables laptop makers to create very thin and lightweight systems, as commercially available magnesium-lithium alloy has a density of just 1.48 grams per cubic centimeter, which is almost half of the 2.72 grams per cubic centimeter for aluminium alloy.

Magnesium-lithium also has other interesting properties. It has better intensity, extensibility, dissimilarity, and heat dissipation than aluminium. By adding rare earth elements to the magnesium lithium alloy, Taiwan-based Amli Materials Technology expects to achieve even better results for its third-generation magnesium lithium alloy:

The intensity of Amli's first-generation magnesium-lithium alloy adopted by Japan notebook makers reached 170Mpa, and that of its second-generation one has improved to 210-250 Mpa after incorporating aluminum, Lin disclosed, adding that the third-generation magnesium lithium alloy will be blended with rare earth to achieve even higher intensity.

The downside is that magnesium-lithium alloy costs 2.5 to 3 times as much as aluminium alloy. This makes adoption limited to high-end devices like the 13.3" Lifebook UH-C/C3 from Fujitsu, which weighs only 698g, the lowest weight ever for a 13.3" laptop.