Pioneering Queen’s chemistry gets $24M boost to advance coatings that preserve metals from deteriorating

News Release - Pioneering Queen's chemistry gets $24M boost to advance coatings that preserve metals from deteriorating. With support from the Government of Canada's New Frontiers in Research Fund, new research extending the lifespan of metals could save billions across the infrastructure, microchip, and health care industries KINGSTON, ON - Today, the federal government committed $24 million through the New Frontiers in Research Funding to Queen's University-led research poised to extend the lifespan of metals using unique molecular coatings that could save billions of dollars on maintenance across a number of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, cancer therapy, consumer electronics and infrastructure. The work could position Canada at the forefront of the barrier coatings industry, which has a national economic impact of $31 billion per year, and currently employs 211,000 people across the country. "Worldwide, countries spend, on average, over three per cent of their GDP each year on corrosion maintenance," says Cathleen Crudden, Queen's professor, Canada Research Chair in Metal Organic Chemistry, and lead researcher on the project. "Annually, Canada spends around $66 billion across sectors. With new strategies, like the innovative coatings we are developing, we could save governments, taxpayers, and industries up to 25 per cent of this cost. We are very excited about the potential this work holds, and grateful for this significant support from the government's New Frontiers in Research Fund: Transformation Stream." Together with her multidisciplinary team of international researchers and industry collaborators, Dr. Crudden is developing a fundamentally new approach for protecting metal surfaces.