People crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, New York. Corrosion of metal is estimated to cost around $2.2 trillion, more than 3% of global GDP. It can also cost lives. Any product that includes metal - buildings, bridges, cars, aeroplanes – becomes weaker and less safe if corrosion takes hold.
A company founded by a Swansea University researcher, which has patented a safer, smarter way to tackle corrosion, has recently gone global, signing export deals around the world.
Hexigone Inhibitors was founded by former Swansea University researcher, Dr Patrick Dodds, with support from the University’s innovations team.
The company has recently signed a succession of international deals with organisations from the USA, India and Mexico, as well as South and Central America.
Corrosion of metal is a colossal problem. It is estimated to cost around $2.2 trillion, more than 3% of global GDP. It can also cost lives. Any product that includes metal - buildings, bridges, cars, aeroplanes – becomes weaker and less safe if corrosion takes hold.
Dr Dodds saw the growing demand from industry for safer, smarter ways to tackle corrosion, especially after the EU banned hexavalent chromate, the corrosion inhibitor previously used most widely, as it has been linked to cancer.
The product Hexigone created, working in collaboration with industry, is called Intelli-Ion® AX1. It can be used as a paint additive and in protective coatings to prevent corrosion.
It is not only safer and more sustainable than other inhibitors but has also been shown to be over ten times more effective than other alternatives on the market, including the banned hexavalent chromate and zinc phosphate, the new market leader.
The company launched its export strategy three years ago, after being spun out of Swansea University.
Dr Patrick Dodds, founder and chief executive of Hexigone, explained:
“Exports now account for 90% of our turnover and since 2021 we have upscaled our manufacturing processes by 3000% and grown our headcount by 50%. We’re travelling all over the world to meet new clients and have some enormously exciting and significant deals about to go over the line.
“The industry is moving at a significant pace and the opportunities are endless when you consider that any metal asset needs coating for protection. However, it’s also an enormously secretive sector, with all clients insisting on the strictest confidentiality over all aspects of their operations in this space.”
“India is a massive market for us, the growth rate is so rapid and the investment in their infrastructure is unrivalled. You cannot believe just how much is going on there.
We’ve got a great product; we know that. So we need get it out there into as many markets and sectors as possible. The global export markets create limitless possibilities.”
Dr Jonathan Widdowson, Innovations and Spin-outs Officer at Swansea University, said:
“It is great to see Hexigone going global with their business, which is helping to tackle one of the world’s most costly problems in a safer, smarter way. Our team have worked with Hexigone from the outset, helping them get established and take their first steps into the market as a spin-out company from Swansea University.
Patrick gained crucial experience and support in accessing training provided by the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub’s Enterprise Fellowship and investment from the Right Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers’ Venture Prize.
This was followed by a series of support from Welsh Government, including investment from the Development Bank of Wales and attendance at various trade missions which helped pump prime their entry into the global inhibitor market.”