oerlikon.com

Sustainable Products

GRI 3-3

The intensity of discussions and disputes at the COP27 meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, reflected the gravity of the climate crisis — but also made clear that net zero cannot be achieved by any one country or group of countries and that there can be no progress without partnership.

Significant indirect economic impacts

GRI 203-2

At Oerlikon, our strategy is to pursue sustainable innovation in collaboration with our customers so that they and their customers and industries are empowered to increase efficiency and productivity, optimize resource use and reduce energy and water consumption and waste.

The global population crossed the 8 billion milestone in 2022 and is projected to reach 10.9 billion by 2100. Worldwide growth in the middle class will continue to spark a rising demand for energy, food, clothing and other consumer products. As international trade grows in response to this lifestyle trend, there is also an increasing need for manufacturing solutions that are efficient, productive, profitable and designed to support a sustainable circular economy.

Sustainable Products

As a leading global technology company, we engineer solutions that contribute to a more sustainable planet. With our global footprint, we operate 205 sites in 37 countries, providing jobs for more than 12 100 employees. Through our global, regional and local organizations, we complement our own talents by partnering with suppliers, local contractors and service providers. 

We serve a broad scope of end markets, including tooling, automotive, aerospace, power generation, polymer processing and textiles. With a portfolio of equipment, components and services that encompasses surface engineering, advanced materials and fiber production, we promote greater efficiency in energy consumption, longer lives for equipment and tools, increased usage of recycled fibers and materials and reduction of waste and CO2 emissions. 

A large number of our products and solutions in our end markets continue to deliver sustainable benefits over their life span, be it for months or years. For example, our WINGS (Winding Integrated Godet Solution), which reduces energy consumption by as much as 40% during the yarn manufacturing process, or our high-tech abradable coatings that increase aerospace engine operation safety and reduce fuel consumption, thereby decreasing CO2 emissions.

To remain a technology leader, we are constantly innovating and developing new products or upgrades that deliver sustainability and efficiency. For example, we launched an enhanced EvoQuench system for nylon production. Quenching is the rapid cooling of the fibers after they have been heated and stretched during the spinning process, thereby improving the strength and durability of the fibers. By using significantly less air that needs to be conditioned for this process, EvoQuench can result in up to 80% savings in energy consumption. With this one-of-a-kind enhancement, the nylon fibers produced are softer, smoother and more refined like silk.

Another example is the optimization of our BALINIT C coating for large bearing applications, such as in wind turbines. These coatings reduce the friction and wear from mated parts, which improves the performance, reliability, and longevity of critical components. By extension, this reduces the cost of sustainable energy and also reduces CO2 emissions by extending maintenance intervals and thus requiring fewer spare parts. Because these coatings extend the life of component parts and reduce the frequency of replacements, the raw materials, metals and energy that are required to manufacture a replacement part are also saved.

Roller Bearings coated with BALINIT C by Oerlikon Balzers

In 2022, we invested around 4% of our sales (CHF 113 million) in R&D and filed 69 new patents. Oerlikon’s research and engineering strategy is driven by three priorities: customer needs, market potential and environmental concerns. Our R&D investments also include the development of next-generation solutions such as: 

  • Coating and material solutions for future mobility, with a focus on the battery- or fuel-cell-operated electronic vehicles that will help steer us toward a cleaner planet, and 
  • Polymer recycling technologies and solutions to reduce waste and CO2 emissions. 

Here you can find many more examples and case studies of how our technological solutions – often developed in collaboration with our customers and partners – are helping customers to achieve their sustainability goals by reducing their carbon footprints, enhancing the performance of their equipment and production systems, saving costs, reducing the use of energy and resources as well as minimizing waste generation.

Reducing Material Usage

Reducing Material Usage

Case Example

Nonwovens are well-known materials for producing face masks and consumer disposables. But, they are equally important as geotextiles, used as permeable fabrics to separate, filter, reinforce, protect or drain. 

Oerlikon Nonwoven has developed a process for the production of geotextiles, enabling 5% savings in raw materials benchmarked against 130g/m2. The resulting customizable, high-performance material maintains equal or better strength at a lower web-weight and improved strength at the same web-weight. 

With such a material, customers have the potential to save up to €400 000 per year compared to conventional spunbond process.

Automating with Wiping Robots

Automating with Wiping Robots

Case Example

Regular wiping of the spin packs is important for process stability and yarn quality. Automating the process with Oerlikon Barmag's wiping robots, which can be retrofitted to numerous spinning plants, delivers considerable benefits, as it reduces yarn break rate by up to 30%, improves process stability and reduces downtime (can be completed in just one minute).

In addition, the wiping robot helps to indirectly reduce waste as a result of a 90% decrease in use of silicone oil spray cans and a 15–20% decrease in total silicone oil consumption.
DLC Coatings: Environmental Benefits for Conventional and Alternative Drive Solutions

DLC Coatings: Environmental Benefits for Conventional and Alternative Drive Solutions

Case Study

Carbon-based coatings such as BALINIT DLC (hydrogenated diamond-like carbon), BALINIT C (mix of metal and hydrogenated diamond-like carbon) and BALIFOR T (hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon) are utilized in a variety of applications, from wind turbine shaft bearings and planetary gears to components in food processing. These high-performance, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings extend the life of parts and tools, resulting in raw material and energy savings.

Especially in the aerospace and automotive sectors, they also actively contribute to reducing fuel consumption. For example, DLC-coated valve and power train components can – in conjunction with other components in the system – reduce the friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) by 10%, which translates to a 2% reduction in fuel.

DLC coatings are also a vital part of modern alternative drives: BALINIT DLC STAR and BALINIT CNI prevent wear of dry-running compressor components in fuel cell vehicles, making them more robust and extending their lifetime. These coating solutions are currently employed in serial production with a customer in Korea and will be rolled out globally with various OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers over the next years.

Luxury Transition to Green Technologies

Luxury Transition to Green Technologies

Case Example

Jewelry and metal parts such as buckles, chains and clasps used on luxury accessories are often made of plated brass or zinc-alloy. As the luxury market transitions toward becoming more environmentally friendly, we are seeing a gradual shift toward using stainless steel with protective high-quality coatings, such as Oerlikon’s physical vapor deposition (PVD)
technology.

These coatings are more durable and scratch-resistant, and designers equally value the fact that they offer a broader spectrum of colors and iridescent effects.

Reducing Resource Consumption in Meltblown Filtration

Reducing Resource Consumption in Meltblown Filtration

Case Study

Oerlikon Nonwoven’s HycuTEC inline charging technology is used to create high-end charged meltblown (a method of fabricating micro and nano fibers) filtration media. Introduced in March, it went on to win the 2022 FILTREX™ Innovation Award.

One of the reasons HycuTEC won the award was that the meltblown media treated with the technology requires 40% less polymer (fabric weight) to achieve the same filter efficiency than the nonwoven material that was not treated. In other words, filter specification is easier to achieve while reducing waste in production. Compared with other hydro-charging concepts, the unit significantly reduces water and energy consumption due to the elimination of an additional drying process and the lower pressure drop in the filter material.

HycuTEC is the first industrially manufactured hydro-charging solution that can be easily retrofitted to existing systems as a plug-and-produce component.

Oerlikon HRSflow XP Nozzles Pave the Way for Fully Recyclable Yogurt Cups

Oerlikon HRSflow XP Nozzles Pave the Way for Fully Recyclable Yogurt Cups

Case Study

The new Xp nozzle series from Oerlikon HRSflow, specifically engineered for thin-wall packaging, ensures a reliable process and an increased productivity at the lowest cost per unit. It is also part of the ELIOS 4 500 Injection Molding Machine from partner Netstal, which was showcased in action at the K trade show in Düsseldorf.

The Oerlikon HRSflow Xp nozzles made it possible to produce a thin-walled 150ml IML yogurt cup (6.4 g) from a certified renewable PP polymer by SABIC, live at the exhibition, highlighting the importance of human and environmental health. The material is based on tall oil, a waste product from paper production. The powerful and energy efficient machine compensates for the slightly thicker label in the injection molding process with a correspondingly thinner wall thickness of the cup. The wall thickness of the 5.4 g cup without label is just 0.32 mm. 

This thin-walled yogurt cup is the evolution toward a fully recyclable packaging. It is equipped with the NextCycle IML label from MCC Verstraete, so that the fully decorated PP IML package can be recycled without the label impacting the RPP material. These labels will also feature digital watermarks from the Holy Grail 2.0 initiative.

New Carbon-based Coating Delivers Sustainability and Productivity Benefits

New Carbon-based Coating Delivers Sustainability and Productivity Benefits

Case Study

BALINIT MAYURA is a new carbon-based coating that extends tool service life and maximizes precision and productivity for machining and forming non-ferrous materials.

Compared to its predecessor coating, BALINIT MAYURA can enable savings of up to 81% of the target material, that is the material that is deposited as a coating on the tool. 

It also cuts energy consumption by reducing both production time and the electricity required, adding up to 112.5 kWh in energy savings per coating process. BALINIT MAYURA achieves further emissions reductions because a lower volume of lubricants is required in a variety of cutting and forming applications and because it is the preferred coating for use in manufacturing lithium-ion car batteries.

In addition, the new coating can be reapplied several times, which helps to conserve resources and reduce waste.

Notable for its degrees of hardness and smoothness, BALINIT MAYURA reduces material adhesion and thus minimizes built-up edges and optimizes chip flow. The minimal coefficient of friction due to its low roughness enables lower torques, and the coating reduces the adhesion tendency and the formation of burrs and slivers. An extremely thin and heat-resistant coating, BALINIT MAYURA helps keep cutting edges sharp and thus delivers greater precision, longer tool service life and a more reliable manufacturing process.

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