Waterloo-based nanotech company Alchemy received $1.8 million in federal funding to expand its development of next-generation thermal camouflage textiles for military use.
Co-founded in 2013 by Waterloo Engineering alumni Khanjan Desai and Chong Shen (both BASc ’13, nanotechnology), the company produces a nanoceramic film to protect windshields from scratches and stone chips. The product was discovered to interact with thermal infrared radiation, which led to partnerships with the defence industry.
Alchemy’s defence solution Crypsis Class is a nanocomposite coating designed to conceal uniforms and avoid detection during military operations.
“Something we have seen in the last three years of the Ukraine war is that the battlefield has been rendered transparent by thermal cameras, which are very cheap and easy to buy,” Desai said. “Put a thermal camera on a drone, and now you have a level one unmanned aircraft system in the sky. Every soldier, vehicle and military encampment becomes visible in the thermal spectrum, rendering existing camouflage ineffective.”
The company’s multi-spectral camouflage platform uses specialized nanoparticles that can be integrated into textiles to camouflage soldier’s heat signatures in the mid-wave and long-wave infrared spectrums. The team will explore converting the technology into an aerosolized form to camouflage military equipment.
Go to Made by Waterloo: Alchemy transforms nanotechnology for defense solutions for the full story.