Tribonex raises US$1.2M in new share issue; surface treatments for friction and wear reduction

Tribonex AB, a developer of innovative surface treatments for friction and wear reduction, recently raised 13.2 million SEK (US$1.2 million) in a new share issue. Taking the forefront in this investment round is EIT InnoEnergy, a major investor in the sustainable energy innovations arena, with a significant participation also from First Venture Sweden AB, the main shareholder in Tribonex.

The fresh capital injection comes at a strategic moment for Tribonex, which has moved from process development to full scale industrialization and implementation of its novel Triboconditioning surface treatment for various industrial and automotive applications.

The Triboconditioning process combines mechanical burnishing with tribochemical deposition of a friction and wear-reducing compound onto the component surface. Tools are used to work the surface, pressing in component asperities and creating a plateau surface roughness profile. The plastic deformation of the surface peaks releases energy which makes a special process fluid to react with the surface in the tool contact. A low friction and anti-wear tribofilm is thus formed on the component surface, well integrated and chemically bound to the surface.

Key to the process are special reactive fluids that both protect the component during the machining, avoiding surface damage and scoring from the tool interaction, as well as changing the surface chemistry, which works as a low friction running in layer adding long lasting benefits.

Triboconditioning can be carried out using standard machines and finishing equipment, which makes the process very cost efficient in series production. Operator training and process operation is also simplified. Implementation is carried out using either standard CNC-lathes, VMCs or honing machines, suitable for parts with a round shape, such as outer diameters of shafts and inner diameters of cylinders. This process is called Triboconditioning RS.

Components with a more complex geometry such as gears, splines and pistons can be treated using Tribonditioning CG which uses standard mass finishing processing platforms to create the mechano-chemical surface treatments.

In this next growth phase, Tribonex targets to expand the production capacity both in-house and through production partners and solidify the solution for electric vehicle (EV) applications as well as various industrial sectors such as hydraulic motors, pumps, compressors and machine tooling.

electric vehicle