The segment of old vehicles in USA is growing fast. Currently average age of vehicles in USA approaching 12 years. It leads to a number of problems including an increase in carbon dioxide emission due to engine’s excessive heating and low efficiency. According to Steven Chu article in Nature, one-third of the fuel energy in a vehicle is lost to friction. The majority of currently used lubricants are not efficient; they don’t last long and are not environmentally-friendly.
TriboTEX has come up with a solution which not only reduces friction – it repairs the damage and reverses engine wear. The innovation is based on adding synthetic anisotropic nanoparticles to lubricating oils to create a self-forming thick protective coating for engine’s internal components. Nanoparticles are flat and have two functionally different sides: Sticky to attach to the surface and reinforce it, and slippery to reduce friction. Their application results in 10 times reduction in friction, increased fuel efficiency, horsepower, lower maintenance costs, reduced engine noise and ultimately – increases the vehicle’s lifespan.
TriboTEX, the technology behind the company that was founded in 2010, has received more than a million dollars in technology research funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Department of Energy, Hydropower Research Foundation, and won a number of prestigious competitions.
“We’ve designed TriboTEX as a clean energy solution to help fight pollution while saving money on machinery repairs and replacement. Our technology is applicable to industrial equipment such as wind turbines as well as to the consumer market,” said the company’s CTO Dr. Pavlo Rudenko, Ph.D.
The inventors used the funds to complete the research and make the material for mass production. Now, they are running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to bring the product to the market. The campaign reached its goal on the first day and now, near closure has more than 1400 backers and raised over $125,000 from users excited to receive the product with a significant discount.
TriboTEX will be available for sale this summer at $99. The Kickstarter backers have a unique opportunity to get it early for only $50. The application is fast and easy. It starts working on repairing the vehicle’s engine right away and lasts for 40,000 miles.
