Licensing opportunity
The VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland has developed new pre-treatment and curing methods that can be used with the sol-gel coating process, improving the adhesion of sol-gel coatings.
The method is based on the use of modified CO2 dry ice with particles. VTT says it is environmentally friendly and does not cause as much waste as traditional cleaning methods.
The advantage of pre-treatment with modified dry ice is that after treatment the surface does not become oxidised as readily as when chemical pre-treatments are used. In addition, the treatment methods do not give rise to the same large amounts of polluted wastewater as traditional cleaning methods, such as chemical baths.
In a related development, VTT has devised a new curing method, which uses the thermal energy stored in the workpiece to thermally cure the coating.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.