Founded in 2016, TRL9 is an industrial research, development and deployment company, with particular expertise in surface engineering and specialist materials. But the need for innovation sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic led them to develop an air sterilisation system that eliminates the majority of airborne viruses.
With the help of Ian Barrett, CAD specialist at the Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) Project 鈥 which offers a range of support to the region鈥檚 SME manufacturing businesses 鈥 they have been able to fast-track the development process.
Dr Bryan Allcock, founder and CEO of TRL9, said: 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in my line of business, money isn鈥檛 always the most appropriate form of support, sometimes you need expertise.
鈥淲e have nine people in TRL9 and there are areas where we don鈥檛 have expertise, we have no one who can use computer-aided design (CAD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, but this is an area of expertise SAM can provide.
鈥淭he outputs for us were initially a set of drawings and a bill of materials, but then they were able to help with the design as I didn鈥檛 know what the final product was going to look like and Ian from SAM came up with the design we鈥檙e now using, they also did most of the build of the first unit.
鈥淲ithout the support of SAM, it would have taken us a lot longer to be able to get to where we are now, so we鈥檝e had a much more rapid route to market. That has included introducing skill sets that we just didn鈥檛 have and couldn鈥檛 afford.鈥
Dr Allcock, who is originally from Birmingham, moved to the North East from Dorset, where he had been working in the aerospace industry, before setting up TRL9. He has a PhD in corrosion engineering, focussing on coatings, with TRL9鈥檚 most developed technology being responsible for coating the decks of the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales aircraft carriers so that F-35 fighter jets can land on them.
The company has a portfolio of research projects, with clients including the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and Halliburton, usually looking at things that are materials or surface engineering related.
Dr Allcock said: 鈥淲e have projects at various TRL stages. We currently have a PHD student from Durham who is looking at thermoelectric coating, where you use the heat from your body to charge the little watch on your arm, so you never need to plug it into the mains. We鈥檝e also got an oil and water separation system, a project looking at high entropy alloys and another involving solar fluidics, which SAM is actually helping us with at the moment.鈥
SAM is a 拢10.9 million project to help SMEs in the North East develop new products and processes. The project has allowed TRL9 to develop a working prototype of their air sterilisation system that they can take to industry.
The programme is a collaboration between ERD, which is providing 拢5.77 million in funding (拢2.6 million from 2014-2020 and 拢3.1 million from 2020-2023), and the University of Sunderland which is managing and, alongside industry, is investing 拢5.15m in the delivery of this project.
Ian Barrett, Computer Aided Design and Engineering Specialist at SAM, said: 鈥淭RL9 is a great example of how the variety of help available through SAM, with our broad range of skills and expertise, combined with the access to funding, can be transformational for SMEs.
鈥淔or a lot of companies looking to innovate and bring new products to market, there are so many barriers 鈥 especially when it comes to product design 鈥 which can prevent them from bringing new products and services to market. However, the support from the SAM Project can really help eliminate those challenges.鈥
The project has over 拢1 million of industry-leading capital including 3D printers, I4 rigs and VR/AR equipment and software to encourage SME engagement with advanced technology. The project also has grants of up to 拢50,000 available to support capital/product validation/tooling and other financial inhibitors to driving strategic development of both product and process.
Dr Allcock added: 鈥淚 only have positive things to say about SAM, the guys there are fabulous and they鈥檙e very knowledgeable. There鈥檚 no hidden agenda for them, they鈥檙e not trying to sell something. I have already recommended SAM to two organisations that they are now supporting, that鈥檚 two further projects on the back of the work I鈥檝e done with them, so I think that鈥檚 a pretty good accolade.鈥
To find out more about the SAM Project, click .
