Germany’s Fraunhofer ILT and Spanish machine-tool builder Etxetar have signed a memorandum of understanding to broaden the industrial applications of laser metal deposition (LMD) and extreme high-speed laser material deposition (EHLA). The agreement pools the research institute’s process knowledge with the company’s industrial engineering capabilities, aiming at sectors where regulatory change, high-value repair, and the demand for scalable production methods are converging.
Each side contributes a distinct set of strengths. Etxetar operates as an engineering partner for demanding industrial projects, with practical experience on turbine blades, blisk repair, railway axles, and gear components, plus in-house process strategies, software-based monitoring, and production-line integration. Fraunhofer ILT contributes deep LMD and EHLA process knowledge and the ability to convert it into scalable system designs, including digital optimization methods that capture component geometry during coating, spot deviations from target contours, and adjust parameters such as feed rate automatically.
“Coating is where we see some of the strongest near-term industrial pull. Regulation is creating a clear and measurable demand, and EHLA is mature enough to meet it at scale,” says Dr. Thomas Schopphoven, Head of department Laser Material Deposition at Fraunhofer ILT.
Euro 7 Puts Coating Technology in the Spotlight
A major force behind the collaboration is regulatory. The EU’s Euro 7 framework now reaches beyond exhaust emissions to cover non-exhaust sources, including particles released by brakes, a change that has reshaped the market for coating and surface technologies. Producers of brake discs and other wear-prone components face growing pressure to adopt durable, scalable alternatives, and Etxetar has already placed EHLA-based systems in this segment.
“Euro 7 is creating a demand for scalable coating solutions – and that pressure will not stay limited to Europe. We expect similar requirements to emerge in other major markets,” says Schopphoven.
Fraunhofer ILT anticipates that once legislation defines a concrete technical need, manufacturers elsewhere begin seeking equivalent solutions, potentially opening deployment routes in markets such as China, India, and Japan.
Repair of High-Value Components, From Aviation to Rail
Aviation is one of the partnership’s priority fields. Blisks, turbine blades, and other geometrically complex parts combine expensive materials, harsh operating conditions, and a strong economic case for extending service life instead of early replacement, the conditions under which LMD-based repair delivers the most value.
“Aviation sets the bar for what laser-based repair has to deliver – precision, repeatability and full process control on components where failure is not an option,” says Alejandro Bárcena, CEO, Etxetar.
The scope extends further. Etxetar has documented use cases in gear and helicoidal gear repair as well as certified railway axle repair, all situations where wear, localized damage, or complex geometry makes full replacement expensive. Space hardware is also under consideration, particularly where advanced manufacturing and repair methods can support new propulsion concepts and other specialized applications.
AI Brings Consistency to Laser Deposition
Fraunhofer ILT’s AI-SLAM project records component geometry during coating, identifies departures from the intended contour, and corrects parameters like feed rate in real time. Drawing on larger datasets, the software also refines the process iteratively over time.
For industrial operators, this addresses a familiar problem: coating and repair jobs frequently involve uneven wear, varying layer thicknesses, and repeated manual corrections. Combined with Etxetar’s own software, monitoring, and AI tools developed in-house, this digital layer is intended to move results from success in individual cases toward dependable performance at industrial scale. Both partners stress that the collaboration is not about maturing early-stage technology but about carrying already-proven processes into new industrial territory, from Euro 7 brake disc coating to turbine component repair.
Laser Deposition Rides a Regulatory Wave
The Fraunhofer ILT–Etxetar agreement formalizes a strategy both partners were already pursuing separately: turning proven laser deposition processes into scalable industrial systems where regulation and repair economics create demand.
Competitors are moving on to the same opportunity. Prima Additive launched its automated Rapid Coating cell for hard-coating brake discs, claiming an 80% cut in degradation-related pollution, with deployment at Stellantis’ Septfonds plant in France, among the first fully automated Euro 7-compliant brake disc coating lines.
Similarly, EMAG’s ELC 450 LMD is a laser metal deposition system that applies hard coatings to brake discs to improve corrosion and wear resistance ahead of Euro 7’s brake emission limits, which cap particulate output at 7 milligrams per kilometer versus the roughly 40 milligrams typical today.
The direction is clear: Euro 7 has turned brake disc coating into a race among laser deposition suppliers. Fraunhofer ILT and Etxetar now enter that field as formal partners. How the approaches compare at production scale remains to be seen.
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Featured image shows Laser metal deposition on a railway axle. Photo via Etxetar.
