A recent report by Verified Market Research in the US found that the thermal spray coatings market will be worth a staggering $12.52 billion (around £8 billion in pounds sterling) by 2028.

Thermal spray coatings are used in a wide range of industrial sectors, including the likes of aerospace and defense, oil and gas and renewable energy. Complex, quite revolutionary combinations of fuel, oxygen and plasma are combined to produce sprayable coatings that can be applied to all manners of materials. When these bespoke coatings are applied to materials, the resilience, performance, and lifespan of said material is dramatically improved.

However, the report pinpoints that the automotive industry is where this growth will primarily emerge from, alongside the ever-changing rules and regulations around the production of shale gas and tight oil, with thermal spray coatings proving to be a less environmentally harmful alternative.

EP Coatings, a surface engineering company specialising in the application of thermal spray coatings used in automotive, aerospace, oil & gas exploration drilling, renewable energy, and other niche markets, are at the forefront of this growth. Through process like HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel), they are helping industrial industries benefit from a lower cost of production, with a higher quality of base material performance.

Here are the two key areas that the report indicates the market will grow to £8 billion by 2028:

Automotive: The rise in productional use of thermal spray coatings, such as HVOF

The global demand for vehicles is continuing to increase. A rise in disposable income coupled with more affordable vehicles has made it far easier for consumers to get on the road, and automotive manufacturers are looking at new ways to meet the demand whilst keeping costs down.

HVOF is a process that can coat the likes of nickel and cobolt-based alloys, stainless steel, stellite, triballoy and inconel and more. This is particularly useful within the automotive industry as these materials are used in high wear, corrosive, and high temperature environments.

The process works as follows; Fuel and oxygen are fed into a combustion chamber and ignited and combusted continuously. The resultant hot gas expands rapidly and exits through a converging-diverging nozzle, exceeding the speed of sound. A powder feedstock is injected into the gas stream, and the result is a spray that can be directly applied to a material.

Base materials with a low cost and that have a HVOF coating, help automotive manufactures cut costs alongside increasing the service life of the vehicles and the parts involved.

Shale gas and tight oil: Future rules and regulations are resulting in the use of less environmentally harmful alternatives such as thermal spray coating

The environmental risks involved with shale gas and tight oil has led to many manufacturers moving away from it. The health of workers is at risk due to the hazardous negative impact that working with Chrome Electroplating Hexavalent Chromium can have, and the rules around working with such problematic processes are likely to become even more stringent in the future.

Thermal spray coating is a viable, less environmentally harmful option for industrial manufacturers. The shift is already clear to see, and over the coming years this is likely to propel the growth of the thermal spray coatings market.

In need of HVOF services? EP Coatings is the name to trust

HVOF isn’t just for the automotive industry. It is currently being utilised in all manners of industrial industries, improving the performance and operational efficiency of base materials as well as reducing production costs for manufacturers.

EP Coatings operate the state of the art eGun™, alongside kerosene-fueled HVOF. The eGun™ is a liquid fuel HVOF torch that uses ethanol as its fuel. Capable of operating at combustion chamber pressures up to 13 bar (188 PSI), this increased combustion performance generates a higher flame and particle velocity. Ultimately, this provides improved coating density and better overall coating integrity. Learn more via the website: https://www.ep-coatings.com/processes/hvof/

Source: https://thenewsfront.com/ep-coatings-thermal-spray-coatings-market-worth-8-billion-by-2028-thanks-to-revolutionary-processes-like-hvof/