Equispheres sees $3.5M investment for metal AM powder production
January 21, 2022
Equispheres, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, reports that it will receive a $3.5 million investment from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FEDDEV), Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity Program to accelerate production of its metal powder materials for Additive Manufacturing. The investment was announced as part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to innovation and climate change.
“Equispheres metal powders have unique properties that enable faster production of stronger, lighter and more reliable 3D printed parts,” stated Kevin Nicholds, CEO. “This contribution will allow us to scale up our production process and take advantage of an exponentially growing opportunity in the 3D printing space.”
The company’s metal powders are used for AM parts in the automotive and aerospace sectors, where the need for lightweight, high-precision parts manufactured with high repeatability and mass production speeds is essential.
“Equispheres aims to enable industrial 3D printing to compete with traditional manufacturing,” Nicholds added. “Our metal powder technology dramatically reduces the cost of 3D part production such that it is economically viable in volume manufacturing applications such as automotive.”
Recent testing by equipment manufacturer Aconity3D demonstrated Equispheres’ high-performance feedstock can additively manufacture three times faster than traditional powders and achieve part cost reductions of 50%. Equispheres states that its materials can help Canadian and global manufacturers adopt AM methods that are efficient, sustainable and cost-competitive.
In addition, the company has expanded the automotive expertise of its management team by adding Thomas Bloor to lead global business development. Rob Wildeboer, executive chairman of automotive supplier Martinrea International, has joined the board of directors. Calvin Osborne also joined Equispheres in December as Chief Operating Officer to guide the company’s scale-up and commercialisation efforts.
Equispheres adds that three new reactors are expected to come online in 2022, adding production capacity to meet surging market demand and creating new jobs in the Ottawa region.
“We are grateful for the Government of Canada’s strong leadership on climate action and programs that support this kind of cleantech innovation. This significant investment by FEDDEV will support the next steps in our growth: working with partners in the automotive, aerospace and defence sectors to qualify our materials for industrial applications,” concluded Nicholds.
