The WELDAPRIME project, which started in February 2014, proposed the development of a new zinc-free weldable primer, taking advantage of recent advances in nanotechnology. The WELDAPRIME project aim was the development of a durable protective coating that was also fully capable of being welded providing the European steel fabrication industry with an enabling technology that allows the steel to be protected with a new, high performance primer coating during the storage periods.
The consortium of the project consists of 10 partners, including SME association, RTD performers and other enterprisers or end users as follows: European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF), Croatian Chamber of Economy (CCE), Federación Vizcaína de Empresas del Metal (FVEM), British Coatings Federation (BCF), Loufakis Chemicals S.A. (LOUFAKIS), Talleres de Soldadura y Mecanizado S.L. (TSMSL), Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. (THOMAS SWAN), TWI Ltd. (TWI), Leibniz Institut für neue Materialien (INM) y el Centro Tecnológico L’Urederra (LUREDERRA).
WeldaPrime is starting the third year of the project having achieved good results in the first assessment at small scale. The two formulations developed show good anticorrosive properties and good weldability being zinc-free primers compliant with the requirements stablished. The next steps that will be carried out during the next year of the project will be the evaluation of the primer concerning durability, health and safety, as well as the primer scaled-up in terms of both fabrication and deposition.
