SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: September 10, 2021 – Trion Coatings, LLC (Trion), a surface finishing company and developer of SAFE Chrome® announces its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM Armaments Center). Headquartered at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, the Armaments Center is the U.S. Army’s primary research and development center for new and existing armament systems, which are used by U.S. Service members around the world.

“The CRADA is an opportunity to extend SAFE Chrome’s electrodeposition technologies to US Army users. It will allow us to grow our capabilities, use cases and demonstrate our novel electrodeposition techniques in operational technology,” says Doug Morrison, Co-founder and President of Trion Coatings.

This CRADA will extend Trion’s expertise in the electrodeposition of trivalent chrome (branded as SAFE Chrome®), other metals and general use of ionic liquids in surface treatment of metallic substrates. The SAFE Chrome® technology addresses Armaments Center’s current priorities to eliminate the use of toxic hexavalent chromium for the benefit of support personnel and the warfighter. The Armaments Center and Trion will leverage their respective background expertise to accelerate the development, prototyping and transitioning of Trion’s new technologies to specific field applications.

“This CRADA enables us to direct our novel technology toward Army lethality applications that we as a private, civilian owned company would otherwise not have the opportunity to pursue. It is a great example of how Armaments Center partners to address the current and changing needs of the warfighter,” says Dr. Mauricio Quiroz-Guzman, Chief Scientist at Trion Coatings.

About Trion Coatings

Trion Coatings was incubated at The IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame and was founded to develop an environmentally friendly alternative to Hexavalent Chromium in functional and decorative chrome plating processes. With faster electroplating speeds, improved wear resistance and higher performance results, SAFE Chrome® uses Trivalent Chromium and a proprietary ionic liquid solution. Through its parent company, ILS-Trion, LLC, Trion Coatings is owned by Middleburg Capital Development, a family office located in Middleburg, Virginia and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE), North America’s most diversified steel and steel products company. To learn more, visit TrionCoatings.com.

About U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM Armaments Center)

DEVCOM Armaments Center is the U.S. Army’s primary research and development center for armament and munitions systems. This cooperative research and development work is being carried out within the Weapons and Software Engineering Center’s Benét Laboratories, which is co-localized with the Army’s organic manufacturing center at Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, NY. To learn more, visit ac.ccdc.army.mil.