How Qlayers contributes to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Pushing for sustainable initiatives and practices has never been more important than in today’s society.

Having clear objectives and taking swift action toward sustainable development is vital to maintaining a habitable planet for future generations. A crucial action leading to sustainable change is the optimization of industrial processes in order to reduce CO2 emissions and transition towards renewable energy. At Qlayers, it is our strategic focus to develop environmentally conscious solutions to make industrial maintenance processes more efficient, eco-friendly, and safer for the workers. Therefore, our products and services are in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.   

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by all 193 UN member states. It is made up of 17 sustainable development goals that span social, environmental, and economic priorities. The 17 SDGs represent a universal call to action for all countries in various stages of development. Using the power of innovation and technology, Qlayers directly contribute to several UN Sustainable Development Goals: SGDs 3, 7, 12 and 13.  ​

As a company, we are aware of the urgent actions necessary to combat climate change (SDG13) and ensure access to more reliable, sustainable, and modern energy (SDG7). Inspired by nature, Qlayers use biomimicry to develop a unique coating technology that will potentially change many major energy-intensive industries and make them more energy-efficient.​

We live in an era of energy transition and wind energy is going to play an especially significant role in it. While a significant amount of new energy comes from wind energy sources, this sector is having a challenging time meeting the increasing demand. Therefore, there is a quest for technologies to increase the efficiency and production of wind turbines without changing too much in the well-established manufacturing processes.  ​

​Qlayers is currently developing a state-of-the-art technology to improve the efficiency of wind turbines and increase their annual energy yield. Inspired by microstructures on the skin of sharks, we are able to print nano riblets in a customizable way to increase the efficiency of industrial surfaces such as wind turbine blades. ​

With this method, the annual energy production of wind turbines can be increased without any modification to their mechanics. To give a more concrete example, applying drag reduction microstructures can increase the efficiency of wind turbines by up to 6%. This equates to an increase of 1143.48 GWh annual energy production by wind turbines in The Netherlands, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of half-million Dutch households.  

In addition, printing sharkskin microstructures on surfaces such as ships or airplanes can reduce the frictional drag with air and water by 3-8%. This will hugely reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in ships and airplanes.  

Part of creating more sustainable production patterns is eliminating waste of hazardous chemicals and chemical contamination (SDG 12). Hazardous ingredients of paint spray such as lead, chromium, polyisocyanates, and liquid organic solvents are released into the air during the spray coating application. ​

To protect the painters and the environment from overspray, all Qlayers robots are equipped with a spray shielding system that prevents the spray fumes from being released into the air, making the coating application more sustainable. The paint fumes then will be collected and extracted by a suction system and nano particles will be filtered.  

In addition to the above-mentioned goals, the third point on the 2030 Agenda (SDG 3) promotes well-being and health for everybody including the safety of the employees in challenging workplaces.​

The conventional coating application process exposes painters to safety risks such as working at dangerous heights for long hours. By automating the coating process and enabling the painters to carry out the job from the safer grounds, Qlayers robotic solution contributes to higher workplace safety standards in many major industries such as storage tanks, wind turbines and maritime.  ​

In conclusion, achieving the 2030 vision of the SDGs’ global agenda is not a one-man’s job. All government entities, and more importantly, businesses must make a significant contribution to the shift. This is where Innovative technology providers, such as Qlayers are paving the path for a better world and a more sustainable future. ​​