ENBIO to Create 12 Jobs at New €1.5m ESA-Funded Centre in Clonmel

Surface transformation company ENBIO is to create 12 new jobs at its newly opened €1.5m space technology centre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, which has been funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).

 

The facility is ENBIO’s centre of excellence for the development and production of thermal management treatments or ‘sunscreen technology’ for satellites, spacecraft, and space related hardware.

 

It will enable ENBIO to produce the next generation of surface treatments to cope with the harsh conditions of Outer Space using its patented technology platform CoBlast.

 

Invented by company CEO John O’Donoghue, CoBlast produces a unique ‘SolarBlack’ surface, which it will then deploy on critical internal and external surfaces of the satellite. 

CoBlast replaces the oxide layer of a metal – typically aluminium or titanium – with a thin surface which fuses to the metal in a single, environmentally friendly process step, requiring no chemicals or thermal input.

 

O’Donoghue said: “Thanks to the strength of the team at ENBIO, we are ESA’s fastest adopted hardware ever, setting new records for getting a technology from concept to flight qualified.

 

“We are proud to bring a hi-tech investment into Ireland given that we are a small company, and we will continue to develop our surface enhancement technology to solve unmet needs for space and beyond.” 

 
The contract was secured through Ireland’s membership of ESA which is managed by Enterprise Ireland.
 

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