HIGHLY FLEXIBLE, HIGHLY THERMAL CONDUCTIING CERAMIC NANOFIBER COMPOSITES FOR PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD APPLICATIONS

Project Information

Flexiramics

Grant agreement ID: 807740

DOI

10.3030/807740

Project closed

EC signature date 31 January 2018

Start date 1 February 2018

End date 31 May 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Nanotechnologies

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

EUREKITE BV
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Flexiramics (HIGHLY FLEXIBLE, HIGHLY THERMAL CONDUCTIING CERAMIC NANOFIBER COMPOSITES FOR PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD APPLICATIONS)

Reporting period: 2018-02-01 to 2018-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main objective of Eurekite is to become the first global provider of new nanotechnology-based flexible ceramic nanfibers. The short-term goal of the Flexiramics Project is to achieve a commercial production of ceramic nanofiber composites and to penetrate the plastic-based ceramic nanofiber composites market. Moreover, we aim to become the first company in the world to offer roll-to-roll continuous production capacity of ceramic nanofibers. The main expected outcome of the Flexiramics project is a commercially mature solution for continuous production of ceramic nanofibers, which will be deployed in collaboration with strategic partners in global markets.
The Feasibility Study for SME-Instrument Phase 1 aims to determine the feasibility of a pilot plant for continuous Flexiramics production in material-to-roll mode. This will enable EUREKITE to initially reduce risk in scaling the spinning process and will subsequently enable us to produce larger sizes and volumes than those we can currently produce in lab scale. This initial scaling is required to enter into co-development projects with customers who, in turn, will help EUREKITE grow its business. The main objective of EUREKITE is the evolution from concept to mass production.

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

A Feasibility analysis has been conducted for the scalability of the production line evaluating different production technologies. Several key technical specifications have been also evaluated in detail, including suppliers’ evaluation, defining concrete equipment to be incorporated to obtain the target production variables. We based the evaluation on several “go/no go” decisions while evaluating multiple consideration on applicability.
The main outcome has been the technical design of the process that allow mass production and the functional specification of the pilot plant for the Phase2.
A detailed risk analysis has been conducted for the implementation of the different evaluated technologies. Besides a well-defined technology roadmap has been established.
As the core competency of EUREKITE consists of the development of custom-made flexible ceramic nanofibers, we have analysed main end-users and established different business cases and partnerships for the different possible applications of our solution.
We have also recalculated more accurately the foreseen financial perspectives in the 4 years ahead.

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)

The generic competition offers several ceramic fiber producers. These companies have utilized ceramic fibers in their latest products, which have a diameter ~10x larger than Flexiramics nanofibers. The small diameter of Flexiramics nanofibers (<500 nm) is the key to achieving the fine filtration with low pressure drop and high fluxes while enables utilization in much thinner polymer films. Additionally, the other producers’ individual fibers are porous, which creates obstacles for heat conduction. Finally, our nanofibers’ flexibility enables performance levels that competing products are unable to achieve.

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