HELM

Lightweight ceramics and fiber-reinforced ceramic composites, such as non-oxide ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and expanded graphite (EG), represent very promising solutions for high-temperature applications in strategic industrial sectors such as transport and energy. In fact, these materials are one of the current priorities of the European Technology Platform EuMAT and a strategic topic of the EC Research Roadmap for Materials. Huge market opportunities for CMC and EG are expected, provided that the three main identified gaps are closed: high cost, difficulty in processing and reliability of materials. New and more efficient manufacturing technologies can pave the way to improve material quality, shorten processing time, move closer to near-net-shape manufacturing, reduce energy consumption and lower production costs.

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HELM will address these challenges by proposing innovative high-frequency electromagnetic, microwave (MW) and radio frequency (RF), heating technologies for the integration and long-term replacement of standard thermal processing routes, i.e.: Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI), Liquid Silicon Infiltration (LSI), Polymer Impregnation and Pyrolysis (PIP) and Graphite Exfoliation (GE). MW/RF heating has special features (fast selective mass heating, reversed thermal gradients, more homogeneous heat distribution) that will improve the performance of the materials. It can reduce processing time by 60% (or even more) with a subsequent reduction in production costs and a reduction in energy consumption of up to 50-60%. HELM's RTD activities involve some of the most important European experts in this field, including research institutes, innovative SMEs and end-users for industrial validation.