Equispheres announces $8 million in funding received from SDTC to scale production.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO: Equispheres, a materials science innovator based in Ottawa, Canada, today announced they have been awarded funding and support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). SDTC helps Canadian entrepreneurs accelerate the development and deployment of globally competitive clean technology solutions. Equispheres is receiving $8 million from SDTC to facilitate scaling its metal powder production capacity over the next two years.
As automotive and aerospace manufacturers seek to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, vehicle weight optimization is a top priority. Equispheres’ revolutionary powder is designed specifically for additive manufacturing and has been optimized for the automotive and aerospace industries. As such, this innovative powder allows parts to be manufactured faster, and up to 30% stronger and lighter than those with traditional AM powders.
“We are excited to receive this funding award from the SDTC Foundation,” states Kevin Nicholds, CEO of Equispheres, “This support from SDTC speaks to the importance of our powder technology as a key to achieving significant emissions reductions in the automotive sector. The funding from SDTC will help Equispheres to continue to accelerate our production capacity and support this important work by our automotive partners.”
Leah Lawrence, President and CEO, Sustainable Development Technology Canada is excited for how this technology translates into real-world change. “Canadian cleantech entrepreneurs are tackling problems across Canada and in every sector. I have never been more positive about the future. Equispheres has developed a metal powder that acts as ink for 3D printing and enables automotive and aerospace manufacturers to reduce the weight of their products. With Equispheres’ powder set to remove 100 – 200 kg of mass from an automobile, this would be the equivalent to removing 75 million cars off the road!”
The timing of the funding aligns well with other initiatives Equispheres has been pursuing in an effort to position their powder as a significant cleantech solution in automotive and aerospace manufacturing. Equispheres’ has assembled a consortium including a major automotive manufacturer and a leading aerospace company to leverage the weight optimization potential of Equispheres’ powder to drastically reduce vehicle weight and resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
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Equispheres powder will remove 100 – 200 kg of mass from an automobile and improve fuel efficiency by over 10%.
This is equivalent to removing 75 Million cars off the road.
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Although additive manufacturing is not new to the automotive and aerospace industries, it was previously not feasible on a mass production scale with aluminum alloy powders. Since aluminum alloys account for a significant amount of the material demand in these industries, developing a powder that allows for faster, more efficient production of stronger and lighter parts, has huge implications for manufacturers. The results Equispheres has achieved impact not only the efficiency of the production of parts but also the part performance as related to their potential carbon footprints. In the automotive industry alone, it is anticipated that Equispheres powder will improve fuel efficiency by over 10%. Additionally, Equispheres’ powder outperformed in aerospace-ready quality tests and has “proven exceptional” in tests performed by McGill University.
The SDTC funding will enable Equispheres to work with more automotive and aerospace industry partners faster and help them realize the benefits of more efficient production and reduced emissions with their innovative metal powder.
About Sustainable Development Technology Canada:
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to advance clean technology innovation in Canada by funding and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises developing and demonstrating clean technology solutions.
Follow Sustainable Development Technology Canada on Twitter: @SDTC
Veena Bhullar
SDTC
613-530-5170
[email protected]
Website: www.sdtc.ca
