Enterprise Ireland Interview With EnBio - November 2011
In 2006 John O'Donoghue established EnBio with the aim of developing a new coating product, CoBlast, which replaces the oxide layer of reactive metal substrates with an application-specific chemically bonded and particulate-free thin surface.
His vision was to license it to the medical devices sector, specifically coated orthopaedic implants, as a unique delamination and particulate-free, lamellar bone promoting surface.
But in 2009 this vision was expanded upon when Enterprise Ireland (EI) approached the firm to ask it to consider getting involved in the work of the European Space Agency (ESA). It was good timing, as EnBio was in the process of exploring non-medical opportunities for CoBlast within the aerospace, space, automotive and energy industry sectors.
"EI helped us to understand exactly what ESA was looking for, the current tenders that were available, and then supported us in our bid to win that tender," recalls Nigel Cobbe, VP of business development with EnBio.
Indeed in 2009, EnBio successfully won a €300,000 contract to investigate the potential of the CoBlast process to deposit thermally emissive 'black' surfaces for space and satellite applications. For spacecraft, a more emissive surface means less temperature variation across the craft, however other materials, such as paint or anodised surfaces, are not as robust at elevated temperatures. This is where EnBio's CoBlast technology comes in.
For EnBio, the benefits of its relationship with the ESA have been many.
"With any of these ESA tenders, there is a very strict testing regime, and it enabled us to put in place a number of industry standard testing practices within the company," observes Cobbe. Moreover, the ESA contract is also effectively paying for one of the company's engineers.
But more importantly perhaps, is the fact that EnBio's ESA work has sparked off a number of products that it can leverage in the larger industrial market.
It is developing a suite of surfaces aimed at offering step-changes in the performance of existing thermal spray coating and brazing processes - directly through its space work, and according to Cobbe, this new product has "huge market potential".
"If proven successful it would enable a performance enhancement right across the thermal spray coatings industry," says Cobbe, adding that EnBio is working with leading companies to first validate and then leverage the potential of CoBlast.
"Our ESA contract raised our profile within the space industry, and has given us access to a number of top tier space companies," notes Cobbe. Indeed the company is in the process of tendering for a number of NASA based contracts.
"It certainly adds credibility to our ability to provide implementable solutions to the space industry," he adds.
For other companies interested in getting involved with the ESA, Cobbe has some advice.
"I would say not to expect an ESA contract to be the end destination – it should be the start of new developments going forward into other industry areas," he says, adding, "at the end of the day, with an ESA funded programme you won't build a business or grow a business directly from the work itself. It's where that work brings you in terms of networking and credibility that's important. You can then grow your business from that work."
Nigel Cobbe may be contacted via nigel.cobbe@enbiomaterials.com