Successful growth and meeting demand as a business means always looking for new processes, technologies, and solutions to rise to your challenges.
Our advanced manufacturing capabilities are helping to bridge the gap between growth opportunities and world-class resources for our global industry partners, taking their projects to the next level.
We can help your business to:
- Test and optimise your processes in open access pilot-scale facilities
- Scale up your manufacturing capabilities
- Improve your process and solution efficiencies
- Design and develop new manufacturing processes that could lower your costs, improve your products, and speed up your production
Alloys in a Circular Economy
The ARC Industry Training Centre for Sustainable Alloys in a Circular Economy, or circAlloy, will train a new generation of researchers to take circular economy principles into the metals processing industry.
Translating research into industry solutions
World-first lightweight, fire-rated wall panel system
Speedpanel, a leading Australian producer of lightweight, fire-rated acoustic wall systems, engineered an innovative new product and focused on scaling up its manufacturing operations. To achieve this, Speedpanel partnered with Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials and Geelong-based metal forming company FormFlow, with support from a $1.4 million grant through the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) initiative.
The collaboration aims to establish a scalable, high-volume manufacturing cell for the new wall system. This includes implementing advanced computer and testing platforms to support systematic product development and manufacturing process design. The initiative marks a critical step toward commercialisation, laying the technological foundations needed for large-scale production. The project not only supports local manufacturing but also strengthens Australia’s capabilities in advanced building technologies.
RESEARCHER: Professor Matthias Weiss
Breakthrough self-healing coating helps fight rust and deterioration
A revolutionary self-healing coating developed by Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials researchers at Carbon Nexus, in collaboration with global energy company PETRONAS, offers a game-changing solution to corrosion. Designed for use on interior surfaces of steel pipes and wind turbines, the coating repairs cracks and scratches automatically using only atmospheric moisture—no external intervention required.
Corrosion costs the global economy billions annually, especially in industries like oil, gas, and energy. Traditional maintenance is costly and resource intensive. This new coating addresses the issue with a durable, low-maintenance solution.
The coating combines polyurethane with dynamic boronic ester linkages to create a tough, resilient surface. It extends the service life of structures, reduces maintenance needs, and improves safety and resource efficiency. It also withstands harsh conditions, showing no blistering, rust, or delamination under long-term UV and salt spray exposure.
Carbon Nexus, the world’s largest open-access carbon fibre research centre, partnered with PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd to bring this innovation to life. The result is a sustainable, high-performance material that could transform corrosion management across multiple industries.
CONTACT: ifmadmin@deakin.edu.au
New coatings to extend the life of critical seated ball valves
Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials partnered with Callidus Welding Solutions (CWS) to develop a novel coating system that significantly improves the performance and lifespan of seated ball valves used in the critical minerals industry. These valves are essential in hydrometallurgy processes for minerals like nickel, cobalt, and gold, but face extreme conditions—high temperature, pressure, and corrosive environments—that degrade conventional ceramic coatings over time.
Despite being erosion-resistant, standard thermal spray ceramic coatings are porous, allowing corrosive media to penetrate and damage the underlying valve surface. This leads to coating spallation, reduced valve performance, and costly production halts. With individual valves costing upwards of $250,000, improving durability is vital.
Led by Professor Daniel Fabijanic, the Deakin research team collaborated with CWS to create a new coating system that fuses directly onto the valve’s dominant surface alloy—titanium. Supported by $585,000 in funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), the project enabled the research and development needed to bring the coating to life.
The result is a more robust, efficient valve solution that enhances reliability and reduces maintenance costs. The success of the project has expanded CWS’s product portfolio and application base, allowing them and their parent company, Callidus Process Solutions, to offer a commercially viable solution to premature valve failure.
RESEARCHER: Professor Daniel Fabijanic
Turn research into results
By partnering with us, you can transform cutting‑edge research into measurable results for your business.