Danish deeptech spin out Thiax has secured new investment from PSV Hafnium to accelerate the industrial rollout of its non destructive three dimensional inspection technology for polymer and composite materials. The funding marks a significant step toward bringing laboratory grade material insight directly into production environments, addressing long standing quality assurance challenges in high performance manufacturing sectors.
The limits of traditional composite testing
In industries such as aerospace, advanced composites are critical to performance, safety, and durability. Yet quality assurance methods have changed little over time. Manufacturers still rely heavily on destructive testing, where components are damaged or destroyed to assess internal integrity, or on ultrasound based techniques that primarily identify basic defects such as voids or delamination.
While these approaches can confirm whether a part has failed, they often do not explain why. Key parameters such as internal strain, crystallinity, and microstructural behaviour remain difficult or impossible to measure in finished components. As a result, manufacturers face limited insight into root causes, reduced ability to optimise processes, and higher costs linked to scrap, rework, and over engineering.
A new approach to non destructive insight
Thiax is addressing this gap by combining advanced X ray diffraction techniques with multispectral X ray detectors and three dimensional measurement technology. The result is a system capable of revealing detailed internal material structures in polymers and composites without damaging the part.
Unlike traditional inspection tools, the Thiax system provides depth resolved three dimensional data on material behaviour inside the component. This allows manufacturers to observe how internal structures respond to manufacturing processes and operational stresses, offering insight that was previously only accessible in research laboratories.
Crucially, the technology is delivered through a compact and production ready instrument designed for in line use on factory floors. This enables real time inspection at industrial speeds rather than offline analysis in specialised facilities.
From physics breakthrough to factory reality
According to Thiax CEO Peter Froberg, the company has reached a key milestone by demonstrating that the underlying physics not only works but can also operate at production scale.
He explained that the ability to perform non destructive inspection at industrial speed changes how manufacturers can approach quality assurance. Instead of simply detecting defects after the fact, companies gain visibility into internal material behaviour as parts are produced, allowing earlier intervention, better process control, and more confident certification.
This shift has the potential to reposition quality assurance from a bottleneck to an enabling function in advanced manufacturing.
Aerospace as the first focus
Thiax is initially targeting aerospace manufacturing, where composite quality assurance remains particularly demanding. Aircraft structures must meet strict safety and certification requirements, yet increasing material complexity has made inspection more challenging.
By enabling deeper insight into internal microstructures, Thiax aims to support more reliable manufacturing, faster qualification, and reduced reliance on destructive testing programmes.
Looking ahead, the company expects applications to expand into spacecraft quality control and other sectors where performance critical polymers and composites are used. The technology could also play a role in supporting increased use of recycled polymers, where material variability creates new inspection challenges for everyday products.
Preparing for industrial deployment
With the investment from PSV Hafnium, Thiax will focus on preparing its system for stable and reproducible operation in industrial environments. Priorities include advancing pilot projects with aerospace partners, strengthening product development, and building the organisational capabilities needed for commercial validation.
By translating laboratory level material science into a production ready solution, Thiax aims to help manufacturers better understand what is happening inside their materials and use that knowledge to improve quality, efficiency, and scalability across advanced manufacturing.
