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.
