An enamel coating on steel provides excellent, sustainable corrosion protection and is fire-proof and resistant to scratches and chemicals. However, the coating application procedure requires large amounts of energy for the high temperature (850 °C) required to melt the coating. Prince was therefore searching for a steel coating with the same properties as enamel but a lower processing temperature.
In conjunction with Sirris and Hasselt University, and with the support of VLAIO (the Flemish Agency for Innovations and Entrepreneurship), Prince embarked on an R&D project to develop coatings based on the sol-gel chemical procedure. Sirris researched vitreous sol-gel coatings resistant to temperatures up to 600 °C. These coatings are also scratch-resistant.
This resulted in the development of sol-gel coatings, to which specific glass frits are added. These coatings adhere well to steel after the steel undergoes a pre-treatment process.