*Athanasios Tsakalos

The presence of AmaDema at the International Defence and Security Conference BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023 was marked by domestic solutions of advanced materials for armour systems, which the company itself manufactures and produces in Cyprus.

AmaDema-Advanced Materials Design & Manufacturing Ltd, a company based in Nicosia, was founded in November 2013 with the aim of strengthening Cyprus’ position on the world map of the advanced composites industry.

The company in question entered the demanding field of processing technical fabrics for the production of advanced composite materials to meet the constant market need for more durable and lighter constructions (aerospace, defence, automotive, sports equipment, etc.) with the aim of high resistance as well as energy and fuel savings.

In the defence sector, AmaDema provides advanced materials for cost-effective vehicle armour systems, which provide protection at various levels aimed at neutralising low- and medium-kinetic-energy projectiles.

Currently, as underlined during the Conference by Dr. Vassilis Drakonakis, CEO of AmaDema, anti-ballistic needs for higher-level threats in the market are met by special high-performance ceramics or composites, which tend to be very expensive and heavy.

Also read: AMADEMA | Participates in “BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023”, the Cyprus International Defence and Security Conference

AmaDema and its focus on novel anti-ballistic materials based on polymers combined with nanoparticles to form nanostructured composites provides the potential to minimise weight and create highly energy-absorbing materials.

For example, the processed fabrics, developed by AmaDema, are used in constructions made of composite materials, making the constructions up to 200% stronger as well as up to 30% lighter compared to those using widely available composite or simple materials on the market today. AmaDema continuously seeks – through field tests – to optimize advanced materials of low-cost, lightweight, and high-level armour for personnel carriers.

Mr. Michalis Georgalas

As developed in his presentation entitled “Nano-enable passive ballistic protection”, Mr. Michalis Georgalas, Quality Manager of AmaDema, the technological originality in these products lies in the utilisation of the potential of nanotechnology and its integration into new nano-modified composite materials of continuous reinforcement such as carbon fibre, Kevlar and glass synthetic fibres to improve their anti-ballistic properties.

Also read: BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023 | Schedule and Participations in the 1st Cyprus International Defence and Security Conference

So, in this direction, AmaDema proceeded to secure a global patent, as well as trademark registration in Europe and America, of the cutting-edge NanoWeld technology®. Through NanoWeld technology®, a layer-by-layer nanostructure of the fibrous composite material is created, establishing additional links for transferring mechanical loads which result in the strengthening of the resilience of multi-layered composites.

At the same time, AmaDema has developed a variety of technical fabrics, processed with nanofibers or other technologies, which are either at a high technological readiness or already available on the market, such as Nano3DP, NanoTrode, e-NanoPrint, NanoFoam, and NanoFilter to reinforce existing structures and materials, used in a multitude of applications such as the aerospace, energy, construction, aerospace, marine, automotive, defence and sports equipment sectors.

The company recently completed a series of ballistic trials with useful ballistic impact results. These initial tests with nano-enhanced composites for bulletproof panels were performed according to the NATO protection level STANAG 4569 at four different levels of protection and kinetic energy requirements/threats, while retests and additional tests at the last two levels will continue in the future.

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