Wear-resistant Coating Solutions with Autoliv

The vision is to develop a new generation coating technique for seatbelt’s metal parts to replace the current nickel-chromium. The surface treatment method must match the seatbelt tongue’s high performance requirements without using hexavalent chromium in the process. Interested startups must be able to demonstrate the appearance and performance on physical parts and show scalability of their process in large-scale serial production.

We’re open to investigate any surface treatment for high-carbon steel parts: metallic, polymer/paint-based, or ceramic: the challenge is to have a surface that matches or exceeds the scratch-resistance of a nickel-chromium plating. Ideally the solution can also be offered to Autoliv’s customers as a premium product with more design options.

This project provides the potential for a disruptive change, starting on a very fundamental level, but with the outlook towards a large-scale industrialization. Because of the safety function in a car, Autoliv spans know-how from very deep material science up to large scale industrial manufacturing. Hence, we also have extensive resources in product development.

An interested startup or scaleup must be able to demonstrate fundamental innovation capability and build the vision to scale up to large series production as well as make a no-compromise product. As Autoliv currently produces over 150M seat belt components per year, a fully scaled solution is a huge opportunity for a successful provider. After a successful feasibility phase to ensure our requirements are met, we target to enter the market within 2-3 years.