Self Healing Ultrahydrophobic Coatings for Corrosion Protection, Phase II

The total annual corrosion related costs in the US has been estimated at greater than $300 billion. Much of these costs are associated with scraping and repainting of metals such as steel structures in the NASA launch platform and related support equipment. Because of the staggering costs stemming from corrosion of steel infrastructure, there is a tremendous need to develop intelligent coatings that can perform numerous functions above those historically demanded of coatings. Luna is addressing the need to enhance the service life of NASA vehicles and equipment through a multifunctional coating system. This research program will develop robust, inexpensive coatings that are i) ultrahydrophobic as a first line of defense to repel water absorption and ii) self healing to replenish coating integrity after damage to yield long term corrosion resistance. The technology developed on this program will decrease life cycle costs, reduce maintenance, and increase readiness by limiting equipment down-time.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.