Equispheres announces $8 million in funding from SDTC to scale production.
OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Equispheres, a materials science innovator 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 cleantech 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 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!”
Although additive manufacturing is not new to automotive and aerospace industries, it was previously not feasible for mass production with aluminum alloy powders. Since aluminum alloys account for a significant amount of material demand in these industries, a powder that allows for faster, more efficient production of stronger and lighter parts, has huge implications. The results Equispheres achieved impact not only production efficiency but also part performance as related to carbon footprints. In the automotive industry alone, it’s anticipated 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 enables Equispheres to work with more automotive and aerospace partners towards more efficient production and reduced emissions.
Equispheres is a materials science technology company focused on additive manufacturing applications, engineering and providing ultra-high-performance, mono-sized metal powders and invests heavily in R&D around metallurgy and alloy development.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to advance cleantech innovation in Canada by funding and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises developing and demonstrating cleantech solutions.
Contacts
Doug Brouse
Equispheres
doug.brouse@equispheres.com
www.equispheres.com
