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Technology & Innovation
Technology & Innovation
9
BEYOND SURFACES
Fall
16
8
Collaboration of
research and industry
for future
coating technologies
Combined expertise
The development of new coatings
and the processes they require
is very time consuming and
therefore expensive. What does
that mean for the industry?
The effort involved is indeed very great,
which is why industry is often not in
a position to undertake this alone.
Consequently, cooperative ventures,
for example, with universities, are
sought as a solution. Many develop
ments must take place at a molecular
and atomic level. This requires a
broad spectrum of expertise in various
disciplines. Understandably, no business
wants to, or is able to pursue this.
So, research and industry should
work together more closely?
Yes – and that is already very often the
case today. Both sides benefit equally
from such collaboration. The step
from the laboratory to production is
enormous. In manufacturing, you are
confronted with a completely different
set of challenges than in the lab.
Research facilities usually lack the infra-
structure because pilot plants – which
are test systems that make it possible to
model processes in real time – are very
expensive. This means that financing is
only possible with the support of industry.
Coatings are found everywhere and it has become impossible to
imagine our modern world without them. Some of them are
obvious, but others are hardly recognizable. Dr Pierangelo Gröning
is head of the department for ‘Modern Materials and Surfaces’ as
well as president of the research commission of Empa, the Swiss
Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. He
deals with coatings day in and day out – and was available to
BEYOND SURFACES for an interview.
being – the skin: It protects the body
from external influences, on the one
hand, but at the same time, it consists of
innumerable sensors which transmit the
information gathered to the interior, to
our brain. Of course, there is enormous
potential for development in the area of
technology with regard to such complex
processes as these. We can imagine a
great deal, but it takes a while to move
from research to implementation.
And may we ask you for a
prognosis for the near future?
I could imagine that organic light
emitting diodes will illuminate our
environment in the foreseeable future.
This will expand the functionality of
surfaces by one additional feature –
that of light. For example, this would
allow walls to become large-area room
luminaires. But I could also imagine the
use of organic light emitting diodes in
flexible screens, as well as a plethora
of further application possibilities.
Dr Gröning, coatings exhibit some
very multifaceted properties which
are able to powerfully influence and
change our lives. In what direction
are the technologies going to be
developing in the next few years?
Take a look around you – everything
is coated. The role and significance
of coatings has changed dramatically
over the course of time. They not only
serve aesthetic purposes, but are also
often the key to making highly efficient
processes and additional functions even
possible. A surface is usually in direct
contact with the environment. Consider
for a moment the surface of a human
“We can imagine a great
deal, but it takes a while to
move from research to
implementation.”
What are the effects of this
type of collaboration?
It enables early data acquisition under
the corresponding production conditions
and with the inclusion of the
necessary
production know-how. This has many
advantages. For example, the develop
ment time is shortened dramatically
because a process can be tested
under actual conditions very early on.
And, once we’re in a position to
produce a quantity of one in the requi
site quality, then we can also do it for
100, 1
’
000 and more. Of course, busi-
nesses, for their part, must also express
interest in a collaboration of this nature.
What role does an institute
like Empa play here?
Empa endeavours to create innova-
tions and to make the corresponding
knowledge and insights gained avail
able to industry. You could say that
we function as a bridge between
academic research and industry. The
new Coating Competence Center
on the Empa grounds in Dübendorf
near Zurich is an important step, for
example, in intensifying the collabora-
tion between research and the coating
industry. In coming years, a location of
the ‘Switzerland Innovation Park’ (SIP)