HIGH TECH COATINGS GMBH

Their core work

High Tech Coatings GmbH is an Austrian engineering company specializing in advanced surface coatings and tribological solutions — materials and treatments that control friction, wear, and fluid behavior at component surfaces. Their work spans both fundamental surface science (laser-induced nanostructuring for biomimetic fluid transport) and high-stakes industrial applications (precision journal bearings for next-generation aircraft engines). In the HIPERFAN project, they took the lead role in developing bearing technology for geared turbofan engines under the EU's Clean Sky 2 aviation program, demonstrating engineering depth well beyond typical coatings suppliers. Their expertise sits at the intersection of surface physics, materials engineering, and precision manufacturing.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

HTC entered H2020 through exploratory, fundamental science — a FET project on laser nanostructures inspired by biological fluid transport, where they contributed as a specialist partner. By 2018, they had pivoted decisively toward applied industrial engineering, taking the coordinator role in a Clean Sky 2 project targeting a very specific, high-value aerospace component: the journal bearing in geared turbofan engines. This trajectory — from curiosity-driven surface science to mission-critical aviation parts — suggests a company that used fundamental research to validate and refine a core technology, then commercialized it in a demanding industrial sector.

HTC is moving deeper into aerospace and high-performance propulsion applications, where coatings and tribology are safety-critical — a direction that favors specialized industrial partners over broad research consortia.

How they like to work

HTC has shown willingness to lead: they coordinated HIPERFAN, the larger and more complex of their two projects, managing a Clean Sky 2 consortium at significant scale. With 12 unique partners across 4 countries across just 2 projects, they engage meaningfully in each collaboration rather than spreading thin. The contrast between a small FET participant role and a full coordinator role on a EUR 2.1M aerospace project suggests they step up to lead when the application domain matches their core industrial competence.

HTC has built connections with 12 distinct partners across 4 European countries in just two projects — a relatively dense network for such a small portfolio. Their Clean Sky 2 involvement likely connects them to major European aerospace primes and research institutes in the aviation supply chain.

What sets them apart

HTC occupies a rare niche: an industrial coatings company that has demonstrated both fundamental surface science capability (FET-level research) and the project management maturity to coordinate a Clean Sky 2 aerospace program. Most coating suppliers operate strictly as subcontractors; HTC has shown they can define technical work packages and lead consortia. For consortium builders in aerospace, energy machinery, or precision manufacturing, they bring an industrial-grade coatings perspective that university partners cannot provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HIPERFAN
  HTC's largest project by far (EUR 2.1M) and the one where they served as coordinator — a Clean Sky 2 program targeting journal bearing technology for geared turbofan aircraft engines, placing them directly in European aviation supply chain development.
• LiNaBioFluid
  An unusual FET project combining laser physics, biology, and fluid dynamics to create biomimetic nanostructured surfaces — evidence that HTC engages with frontier science to develop proprietary surface engineering methods.