LTU, partners in federal project for more efficient industrial coatings, paints

SOUTHFIELD-Lawrence Technological University's Centrepolis Accelerator and three industry partners will collaborate on a $2.4 million federal project to develop lower-energy, greenhouse-gas-free porcelain enamel and paint curing for manufacturing.

The project was one of just 16 awarded federal funding nationwide, part of a $38 million program of the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office.

In the project, LTU and partners aim to validate and pilot a lower-energy, laser-based powder coat curing technology for industrial coatings to replace existing inefficient natural gas curing ovens. The technology was identified via Centrepolis Accelerator's Industrial Decarbonization Innovation Challenge that scouted for best-in-class emission reduction technology for manufacturing operations.

LTU and Centrepolis officials said that in addition to improving energy efficiency and reducing on-site greenhouse gas emissions, the technology has the potential for improved curing cycle times and reduced cooling requirements, which would improve throughput and reduce the physical footprint of the curing process.

LTU's partners in the effort are IPG Photonics, a fiber laser manufacturer based in Oxford, Mass.; PPG Industries, the Pittsburgh-based paint and coating manufacturer; and Whirlpool Corp., the St. Joseph-based appliance manufacturer.

Co-principal investigators on the grant are Robert Fletcher, professor in LTU's A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering, and Pedro Guillen, Centrepolis Accelerator chief operating officer. Fletcher has master's and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, teaches a variety of energy-related courses at LTU, and researches optimization of energy systems. Guillen has a 20-year background in automotive manufacturing and business development.

Fletcher said the project came about through the corporate partnership between Centrepolis-one of a handful of manufacturing-focused business accelerators in the nation-and Whirlpool.

"When a company like Whirlpool makes a washing machine or a dryer, they have exterior paneling that's a metal skin, and they either use a powder coat paint or a porcelain coating that has to be cured in place," Fletcher said. "So they have these giant rooms that are basically giant ovens, heated by natural gas, that achieve the temperatures needed to cure the paint or coating-we're talking several hundred degrees, and these ovens run almost constantly. That's a tremendous amount of energy. Our process is basically to use a much more economical energy source, a laser, that sweeps across the exterior paneling of the appliance and cures it very quickly, literally within seconds, so there's no CO2 production from the giant ovens."

Fletcher said Whirlpool, IPG and PPG "have done some preliminary testing on small metal samples and the process works great. The idea now is to scale this to a working pilot plant to show that it can function and do the job on a large scale."

The Centrepolis Accelerator, housed in Lawrence Technological University's Enterprise Center in Southfield, is 6,300 square feet of business assistance for physical product developers and manufacturing companies, a unique niche among accelerators in Michigan. Clients include climatech, manufacturing startups, and existing companies looking to move up to the next level in product innovation. Services include product design, engineering, and prototyping, as well as business planning services, office space, co-working space, workshops, mentors and events. For more information about the Centrepolis Accelerator and its programs, visit www.centrepolisaccelerator.org .

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation's top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation's top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. And LTU is included in the Princeton Review's "The Best 390 Colleges 2025 Edition," a list of the nation's top 15 percent of colleges and universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, "theory and practice" education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech's 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.