A near absolute black, capable of absorbing 99.4% of light: this is the promise of Strayprotect, a new spinoff from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List). The key is a technology that could well transform the space industry and high-precision optical instruments.
The principle is simple to explain, but more complex to manufacture: carbon nanostructures, invisible to the naked eye, trap light and eliminate stray reflections. The result: optical devices that are more precise, more reliable and perfectly suited to extreme environments.
The origin of this innovation is a need expressed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), who were looking for a European solution capable of competing with the best existing super-black coatings. Supported by a number of ESA grants, researchers at List took up the challenge and developed two versions of the coating, covering the entire light spectrum from the visible to the infrared. This versatility opens the way to a wide range of applications: aerospace optics, space telescopes, advanced imaging systems and high-precision scientific instruments.
Twelfth spin-off
“This is a decisive step forward for space optics,” explains Nicolas Boscher, head of the Plasma and Vapor Deposition Processes group at List. “This innovation offers a lightweight, high-performance solution made in Europe to suppress stray light, outperforming bulky elements and conventional multilayer coatings in terms of efficiency and cost.”
The coating developed by Strayprotect absorbs 99.4% of incident light. Photo: List
With growing interest from the sector, the project has evolved into a startup. For its founder, Naoufal Bahlawane, the industrial potential is already very real: “The demand is there. Our technology meets a concrete need in the space market.”
With Strayprotect, the List has created its twelfth spinoff. “Through List-Ventures, we are cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit within our organisation and implementing a dynamic value-adding strategy, with the ambition of creating spin-offs that are attractive to local and international investors,” says List Deputy CEO Jurgen Joossens. “Strayprotect is yet another success story for our entrepreneurial researchers. We wish the whole team every success in this entrepreneurial adventure!”
This article in French.