ThermaSiC - Silicon Carbide based powder for thermal spray

The overall vision of the ThermaSiC project is to commercialise and bring to market our extreme wear resistant coating based on Silicon Carbide [SiC] for thermal spray. The patent-pending ThermaSiC core technology consist of modified SiC powders and process methods for coating using thermal spray gun such as detonation gun, plasma or HVOF. ThermaSiC provides unique chemical-physical properties and superior coating performance in corrosive and abrasive environments as well as at high temperatures (up to 1,500°C in air and 2,400°C in inert atmosphere). SiC is one of the world's hardest synthetic materials (only exceeded by diamond, cubic boron nitride and boron carbide) and possesses lower density than competing solutions such as WC (tungsten carbide), ThermaSiC will give a wide range of products a longer lifetime, lower maintenance costs as well as competitive advantages. Our technology has been developed during the last three years and originates from two scientists at Department of Engineering Design and Materials at NTNU (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Norwegian Research Centre for Offshore Wind (NOWITECH) that through a research collaboration on offshore wind technology co-financed by the Research Council of Norway made the first technology breakthrough. Throughout 2014, we have internally financed our Phase I feasibility study and completed initial industry technology tests together with St.Gobain and external market analysis by Qittitut Consulting, advancing our prototype technology to TRL7. We have outlined five Commercialisation Objectives [COs] to be achieved. Each will be obtained through the execution of a set of specifically defined CIAs focusing on market maturation, which jointly will remove remaining barriers hampering successful commercialisation of ThermaSiC thereby allowing us to enter the worldwide thermal spray market to secure our market position through both a global market presence as well as important IPR ownership.