KINGSTON, Ontario - GreenCentre Canada and Lorama Group Inc. announced an agreement to jointly commercialize a new environmentally friendly paint technology. Under this agreement, GreenCentre and Lorama will jointly introduce this new technology to the global paint and coatings industry.

Today’s paint products are generally based on either oil or water. Oil-based paints have excellent coating properties, but require organic solvents that are usually flammable, toxic and not environmentally friendly. Furthermore, increasing regulatory pressures are being placed on the use of VOCs that limit the growth of the solvent-based paint systems market. Water-based paints do not contain these solvents, but form coatings that are not as robust and have limited temperature ranges.

An ideal paint technology would be one that combines the best of these worlds: a paint that produces a tough and homogeneous coating across a wide temperature range, without solely relying on VOC solvents. To address this challenge, GreenCentre is commercializing a technology that allows oil-based paint properties to be achieved using waterborne paint formulations.

Originally invented by Professor Philip Jessop at Queen’s University, GreenCentre has demonstrated that these materials create high-quality films without the traditional use of volatile, flammable and hazardous solvents. These materials are water-soluble in carbonated solutions, allowing them to be stored and sprayed as liquids. Once applied to a surface, the CO₂ quickly evaporates and the material switches to its insoluble form, creating a uniform film as if it had been in an oil-based solvent.

“GreenCentre is very pleased to partner with a global leader in the paint formulation solutions. Lorama’s commitment to sustainable chemistry, its global distribution capabilities, and commitment to customer service in the sector make them great partners for commercialization of this exciting technology,” said Pete Pigott, Executive Director of GreenCentre Canada. “Lorama’s established distribution channels into the market are truly global in nature and will allow GreenCentre unprecedented access to these larger markets.”

“Lorama is excited to be working with GreenCentre to commercialize this technology. Both GreenCentre and Lorama were founded on the principles that innovation and a strong entrepreneurial spirit are critical components to success, and with Lorama’s global reach through our presence in over 95 countries, we are well-positioned for the future,” said Jake Jevric, Corporate Vice President at Lorama. 

GreenCentre, Kingston, Ontario, provides an extensive and practical range of laboratory, commercial and intellectual property services to support the development of chemistry-driven activities in Canada. Specifically, GreenCentre offers sector-focused chemistry technology development, intellectual property assessment, business development and commercial services.

For more than 30 years, Lorama has specialized in its proprietary LPRT™ polysaccharide resin product line as well as a variety of additives and rheology modifiers for paint formulators. Lorama’s international sales force supports customers in more than 95 countries around the world in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.