INOCON Technologie GmbH is highly successful innovation-driven company for research of plasma technology and its application in automated, robot-assisted in-line processes, based in Upper Austria. INOCON´s patented Plasmatron® torch has become a standard in the automotive industry with dozens of installed systems in the automated production lines of Audi, VW, Renault, Daimler, among others. INOCON´s research and innovation drive are demonstrated by numerous patents in the field of plasma hardening, plasma welding and brazing as well as atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) technology. APS enables functional micro- and nano-coatings on sensitive, 3D-shaped materials, such as plastics, AM-parts, glass, ceramics, wood or paper. Typical applications of APS coatings are, conductive tracks, low-friction coatings, thermal barrier coatings, wear resistant coatings, adhesive and anti-adhesive coatings or the generation of ZnO-nanowires (ZnO-NW) for sensor applications.

In SUSTAINair project, INOCON´s focus is on generation of ZnO-nanowires by APPD technology as basic element for SHM applicable sensors. Next to working on the coating of optical fibres, INOCON will work on Atmospheric Plasma Powder Deposition (APPD) for conducting, integration and functionalizing of the generated SHM sensors.