A collaboration between Teer Coatings, Johnson Matthey and the University of Birmingham, which has the potential to provide a radical new capability for high-tech UK manufacturing, has been awarded over £480,000 funding from the Technology Strategy Board.

This award is to support the £1 million SuperREACT Project, in particular the further development of a breakthrough technology which aims to transform a research apparatus into a true manufacturing tool in the field of cluster beam technology , opening up manufacturing opportunities in catalytic, fine chemical, electronic/ photonic, bio-medicine and anti-microbials. The aim is to move from microgram per-day to gram per-day capability, with the ultimate potential to achieve kilogram quantities of nanoclusters.

Clusterbeam condensation of nano-clusters is inherently "clean" and, using multiple elemental sources, flexible in terms of cluster composition and structure. The novel matrix assembly-clusterisation processing will enable continuous production of elemental, alloy and core-shell structures.

The best current cluster beam sources are limited to the production of ~1 microgram of clusters per day. This innovative collaborative project is based on a patented idea from the University of Birmingham and also brings together high value manufacturing and market knowledge from Teer Coatings, Miba Coating Group, and Johnson Matthey. The project proposes a method that can ultimately increase that rate by 10 orders of magnitude, transforming the field. This new nano cluster technology will have application in catalysis and potentialliy impact on a number of nano-enabled technology fields including electronics/photonics, bio-medicine, and sensors.

This funding award is one of a number made by the Technology Strategy Board, which recently announced investment of £20 million in grant funding for collaborative research and development projects and feasibility studies that will lead to the creation of new products and processes to be used across a variety of different application areas.