SURE2COAT: SUSTAINABLE SURFACE TREATMENTS OF COMPLEX SHAPE COMPONENTS FOR TRANSSECTORIAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION

Project Information

SURE2COAT

Grant agreement ID: 101091982

DOI

10.3030/101091982

Project closed

EC signature date 29 November 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2025

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 5 905 508,25

EU contribution

€ 5 905 508,25

Coordinated by

SINTEF AS
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SURE2COAT (SURE2COAT: SUSTAINABLE SURFACE TREATMENTS OF COMPLEX SHAPE COMPONENTS FOR TRANSSECTORIAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

SURE2COAT: SUSTAINABLE SURFACE TREATMENTS OF COMPLEX SHAPE COMPONENTS FOR TRANSSECTORIAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION aims at developing new, more efficient and sustainable surface treatment methods. The methods will be evaluated for efficient integration into the whole production chain of complex shaped component, relevant to a large range of sectors. The surface treatment methods will be developed through three industrial relevant use cases for three different industry partners, namely SIEMENS, BOSCH and COWA. A third industry partner, MicroArc will contribute with state-of-the art industrial PEO coating of complex shapes.

SURE2COAT will focus on two use cases where aluminium is the metal to be coated and one copper use case. For the aluminium, several methods will be developed and tested, including doped-PEO and spray-coating with stainless steel.

Through the use cases, development, integration and evaluation of the surface treatments will be conducted. To evaluate the integration potential, SUPSI will work on physical and virtual assembly methods. The coatings will be developed by WUST, HEREON, CIDETEC and UAVR in cooperation with the relevant industry partners. For life-cycle and environmental assessments, the University of Ljubljana, will work closely with the industry partners and the research insititutes. UNE will evaluate the need for updating or developing new standards, based on the results of this project.

SINTEF AS is the coordinator of this project

Project overview as given in the application to EU is given below:

1. Develop new flexible and environmentally friendly surface treatments for aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu), enabling multifunctional corrosion resistant and conductive surface functionalities on complex shape components.
2. Integrate the new surface treatments into manufacturing lines for the production of electrical engines for the food & beverage industry, gas-water heaters for residential heating units, Al-based heat exchanger internals for latent heat storage applications.
3. Demonstrate at TRL6 that the new production line will have higher efficiency, reduced material and energy consumption and lower environmental footprint than the current ones.
4. Demonstrate >50% reduced energy consumption during use for Al-based electrical engine housings and latent heat storage heat exchanger internals and 5% increase in energy consumption and 10% reduction in Cu consumption for gas-water heaters. Simulation techniques and digital twins will be used to demonstrate integration of the technologies through the use cases.
5. Enable the use of Al profiles in environments currently not applicable due to corrosion challenges, which will open new emerging markets: electrical engines for the mobility, shipping and aerospace sectors, construction elements, and future ultrathin heat exchangers.
6. Ambition of a reduction in manufacturing costs of 10% by reduced energy consumption.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

New surface treatments will be developed which shall enable the use of aluminium in areas not currently possible, due to corrosion issues. The new surface treatments must not increase the thermal conductivity in any considerable fashion. The surface treatments will be attempted integrated into relevant manufacturing lines. Long term testing will be performed by SINTEF in a pilot plant developed through the project, and in industry relevant test facilities. Life cycle and environmental assessment and evaluation of need for updating or development of new standards will be performed by ULJUB and UNE, respectively.

The main achievments will be new surface methods, and evaluation of those for the relevant use case operational conditions. For treatments with a high potential for industrial application, further development of LCA, business case and standardisation needs will be developed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Reduce Cu consumption of >5% for the specific use case. Reduce Cu spills to environment by reduced corrosion. Reduced carbon footprint by transporting lighter and smaller units.

Aluminium engine houses:
- Medium term goal is to implement the new ST technologies into the SIEMENS plant with 25k units which will increase to 125k units if the ST technology is adapted by other companies.
- Replace 134 ton SS with 38 ton recycled Al reducing the weight per engine by up to 80%.
- 25 000 engines as a first measure of quantity

Gas Water Heaters (GWH):
- Long term goal is to expand the uptake of the new integrated STs to other production lines by 2030. Lifetime of a GWH is estimated to increase from 15 to 20 years with improved corrosion properties.
- Integration and uptake of STs at a scale of up to 1 million units/year for GWHs

Latent heat storage units with aluminium macro capsules or other shapes:
- New technology that will reduce the overall energy for heating and cooling in residential areas and buildings.
- First production line will produce 8200 units.

For the use cases above the project results will consist of new surface treatments that will prevent Al from corrosion, while keeping the thermal conductivity. For the copper GWHs the aim is to modify the surface by laser structuring to improve the draining of water from the fins of the GWHs which again will reduce corrosion and thus will enable less copper for the same expected life-time of the units. New knowledge and suggested methods for integration of the surface treatments will be an important project result. LCA-E data will be important input to the overall decision of further development and how to make the overall process both sustainable and competitive to existing competing technologies.


Overall, the outcomes of Sure2Coat will contribute significantly to the twin digital and green transition by enabling both more efficient and sustainable production but also enable materials (Al) to new sectors and reduce the overall material consumption.