Toseda, a space and nanotech company in the Pardubice region in central Czechia, has solidified its position as an important player in the space industry through the acquisition of sophisticated and highly specialised equipment. The instrumentation has already proven to be crucial for the company in its development of hi-tech materials for space applications.
- 18 September 2020
The project enabled us to expand our cooperation with several of Europe’s most important space equipment manufacturers and the European Space Agency. This would have been unthinkable without improving our instrumentation and developing our abilities and skills. During visits by our partners we can now feature the new equipment, which also helps us to obtain pan-European grants.
With the support of the European Regional Development Fund, the project accelerated the growth of Toseda and boosted Pardubice’s reputation as an important region for international research, development and innovation.
The advantage of nanostructured polymers
Any material used in space has to be as light as possible and capable of withstanding extreme environmental conditions. Toseda designs and develops nanostructured polymers for space applications. Nanostructured polymers have a significantly lower density than, for instance, metals. This is crucial for saving on transport costs to space. Reducing the weight of a spacecraft by 1 kg can save up to EUR 30 000.
Aside from their low density, these polymers also have unique properties that conventional polymers don’t. For instance, they feature extraordinary optical and antistatic properties, and can both have a high or extremely low thermal conductivity, which allows them to better withstand exposure to radiation and temperature extremes.
However, for these properties to be active, the nanostructures have to be perfectly dispersed in the polymeric environment. To achieve perfect dispersion, the surface compatibility of the nanostructures needs to be tailored to its designated environment.
To design and make these polymers, Toseda acquired a highly sophisticated microscope capable of scanning a surface with a focused beam of electrons to get a crystal-clear picture of its topography and composition. The company bought an ultramicrotome, a high precision cutting tool with a diamond knife for the preparation of specimens for atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
The new instrumentation includes a high-temperature vacuum chamber, intended for the removal of volatile components or high temperature curing of polymeric systems. To make sure the developed materials are up to the task, the company purchased a universal testing machine.
Improving competitiveness, expanding collaborations
These advances have increased the company’s independence and competitiveness internationally. It has enabled the company to bring in new and ambitious research and development projects focused on cosmic hi-tech materials.
The project has helped expand the company’s international collaboration and build partnerships, like with the European Space Agency, and with several of Europe's largest space equipment manufacturers, such as Airbus, Thales Alenia Space and MT Aerospace.
Funding research, development and innovation
Until recently, Toseda regularly underwent external evaluations aimed at analysing its development capacities. This was time-consuming and burdensome for a company of its size. The new equipment has improved the company’s standing in the space industry, one of the most important sectors in which Toseda is active.
The funds came from the Potential Subsidy program, part of the European Commission’s operational programme for Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness in the Czech Republic. This program is aimed at providing companies active in research, development and innovation the funding to acquire equipment, technologies, hardware or software to develop and test new products.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Nanostructured hi-tech materials for application in space industry” is EUR 189 990, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 94 995 through the “Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. This project falls under the priority “Jobs, growth and investment”.