You can forget colour film - Powerful technology from Bitterfeld-Wolfen

The ReaWeC team has put six years of research into the new wet surface coating, which has its origins in the coating technology of film manufacturing.

With the help of this technology "Made in Bitterfeld-Wolfen", in the future, invisible safety features could be applied to product surfaces, seeds could be coated with living fungal cultures or other substances and plastic films for medical technology or electronics could be functionally coated with antistatic properties, for example.

Dr. Roland Watzke, spokesperson for the innovative regional growth centre ReaWeC in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, provided information about this as part of the closing presentation of his initiative at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials in Halle (Saale). Over 100 staff currently work in the small and mid-sized companies of the growth centre. The company owners have invested almost two million euros in research and development in recent years. Another 3.75 million euros should be added to this by 2011. The turnover of the companies involved could increase to 16 million euros if the new processes and products develop well. As a result of the research activities, two new patents were registered, while five further registrations and a utility model are in preparation.

Hans-Peter Hiepe, Division Head at BMBF, referred to his and assessed the results hoped for from the development: “The companies and academics involved in the ReaWeC initiative have done exemplary work. Based on classic film production technology, which already had its home in Wolfen thanks to the production of the first colour film, this technology platform, which is strong in the region, was developed with a fine sense for the new applications of today and tomorrow, and with imagination and good business sense.”

Hans-Peter Hiepe once again emphasised that the expertise present at the site, such as in mechanical and plant engineering, fine chemistry and measuring technology, could be used and significantly extended as part of this process.

He assessed the BMBF subsidies for ReaWeC as a wise investment in a new regional technology platform.

According to him, this expertise must now be poured into products which fit the market. Existing contacts with interested parties in Europe and Asia are developing positively. This path, which is already being pursued, could lead from a growth centre to a new cluster of the latest coating technologies in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen/Halle (Saale) area, he said.

The next plans solidly on the agenda include new coating equipment, with which film up to a width of 1.55 m can be coated using the new ReaWeC technology. Also in the works: the new coating equipment for seeds. Both facilities should be ready to begin operation in 2011.

A capillary caster forms the technical heart of ReaWeC coating technology. The liquid required is pumped into it and applied evenly to the surface to be coated through the pores of an extremely thin membrane made from metallic oxides. In this way, film, for example, can be coated and dried within the production process itself without additional steps, thanks to the newly developed ReaWeC equipment.

The newest addition to the ReaWeC family is Smart Membranes GmbH – a new company formed by the Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials. In the future, it is hoped that this company will develop the membranes in the capillary casters further for innovative applications and bring them onto the market. These extremely thin metal oxide plates could be used in high technology sectors, for example in fuel cells, in photovoltaics, in the development of biosensors or in all areas of nanosecurity – anywhere where surfaces need to be provided with functional, extremely thin and even coatings.