Who is LumiShield?

LumiShield, a spinoff company from Carnegie Mellon and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, has developed a novel, chrome-free pretreatment process called Lumidize®. Established in 2015, LumiShield’s technology delivers powerful and economical corrosion prevention and improved paint adhesion. The Pittsburgh-based team continues to grow and has demonstrated a robust, scalable process with customers and collaborators. When fully commercialized, Lumidize will displace many less sustainable technologies based on heavy metals and phosphates.

Impact of Corrosion

Corrosion is ugly and massively expensive. In 2016, NACE International released results from a 2-year global study on corrosion impact. The study estimated the global cost of corrosion, per year, “to be US$2.5 trillion, which is equivalent to 3.4% of the global GDP.” Even more alarming, the estimate does not include environmental consequences or safety costs for accidents, near misses, and operational shutdowns.

New technology, processes and corrosion management methods are critical.

LumiShield’s revolutionary approach to corrosion prevention, Lumidize, is a non-hazardous, zero VOC process that eliminates the use of toxic metals and phosphates for pretreatment. The process is also less expensive than the incumbent technologies, due to reductions in 3 critical areas:

  • Materials Cost
  • Waste Treatment
  • Process Complexity

Our Plan

The largest users of the pretreatment coating, Lumidize, will ultimately be OEMs and their Tier 1s that apply phosphates and primers to maximize dry film adhesion and retard the lateral creep of corrosion that manifests over time between the metal and its organic coating. Slower adoption in these markets is currently allowing LumiShield to offer its products to more agile organizations including small and medium-sized electroplating, powder coating, and paint shops.

Electroplater, Powder Coating and Paint Shop Customers

LumiShield worked with a partner shop to solve the final technical challenges of elevating this proven aqueous aluminum electroplating product to production scale. Specific challenges included mass transfer, current distribution, and coating quality control in industrial-scale plating baths.

Ten industrial-scale lines are now available for purchase by high-quality electroplaters, powder coatings and paint shops in the U.S. and Canada. The Lumishield technical team will work closely with these shops, providing robust, ongoing technical support.

Our Invitation

If you own or manage a successful powder coating, painting or electroplating facility within North America and are interested in working with a new and highly advantaged metal finishing process that is both well-documented and well-supported, we’d welcome a conversation. Contact LumiShield: info@lumishieldtech.com