Nanotechnology Coatings Gain Position in the Automotive Industry
The automotive industry is greatly impacted by the sweeping changes being made in many countries relating to energy saving, fuel consumption and reduced emissions. In March the Bush administration announced new fuel economy standards for light trucks, which will add challenges for automobile manufacturers who must comply. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade association of the nine largest car and light truck makers, said that under the new rule, nationwide fuel economy standards will have increased for seven straight years - from model year 2005 to 2011.
These challenges create a real need for solutions that are cost effective and can be implemented in a short period of time. This need is one that Industrial Nanotech looks to fill on a large scale, with both their current line of Nansulate coatings and future technology currently in research and development, which will allow further integration of their nano-material into other carrier systems, such as adhesives, fabrics and solventborne systems.
With their Nansulate Translucent High Heat product, Industrial Nanotech is currently providing solutions to unwanted heat transfer from the engine and fuel assembly components of vehicles. Their products have been in use by two professional racing teams (one in NASCAR and one in V8 Super Cars) for several months and have improved horsepower and fuel efficiency on the race cars driven by both teams. The ability to easily coat many different parts, its non-toxic nature, and combined thermal insulation and corrosion resistance properties make it a desirable product for increasing vehicle performance. By utilizing data from professional racing teams, automobile manufacturers are able to put materials through rigorous testing in advance of implementing new technologies into their manufacturing processes, and this initial entry into racing has brought Nansulate to the attention of several major automobile manufacturers.
Another area in the automotive industry that Industrial Nanotech is currently exploring is one that would help to cool the interior of vehicles, allowing less work to be done by cooling systems, and less fuel consumption as a result. They are currently working on components of their nano-materials that would allow their use in materials that are already part of the automobile manufacturing process, adding the benefit of low thermal conductivity to the vehicle without adding large changes to the current manufacturing process.
The insulating properties of the coatings are derived from Hydro-NM-Oxide, a nanoscale material that provides an extremely low thermal conductivity. Other benefits such as excellent corrosion resistance and mold resistance are benefits of the nano materials and base system working together to provide resistance to moisture, strong bonding capabilities and adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces, such as metals, wood, plastic and many others. One of the preparations that Industrial Nanotech made for entering both the automotive market and the military markets was to put their coatings through General Motors' widely accepted accelerated corrosion test - the GM9540P, which their coatings passed at 24 cycles. Other industry-related testing is currently ongoing by major players in the oil and gas markets.
Industrial Nanotech believes that its nanotechnology coatings can help automotive manufacturers worldwide increase vehicle performance and reduce fuel consumption, providing them a solution to a problem that keeps getting bigger as new fuel standards are enacted by lawmakers around the globe. Nansulate Translucent is now in its second year of existence, still a new name in the industry, but with a bright future ahead of it.
For further information, e-mail fcrolley@industrial-nanotech.com; or visit www.industrial-nanotech.com. In the United States and Canada, call 800/767.3998; International call 951/324.7121.
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