LOUGHBOROUGH, UK — Interface Polymers Ltd. has won one of the AkzoNobel Paint the Future awards given to innovative startups. Interface Polymers won an award in the Enhanced Functionality category. Interface Polymers faced stiff competition from all over the world, being shortlisted from a total of 160 submissions received by AkzoNobel in response to its innovation collaboration initiative, launched at the beginning of this year to find solutions to five real-world paint and coating challenges.

Following the announcement of the award winners in mid-May, AkzoNobel signed a Letter of Intent business agreement with Interface Polymers as part of the Paint the Future Accelerator Program. The next stage is to carry out collaborative research and development project work using Interface Polymers’ di-block polymer Polarfin^® additive technology to develop new polymer-based paints and coatings with enhanced performance and functionality. The project aims to create new, commercially viable coatings that solve problems faced by industrial, construction and domestic end-use market applications.     

Chairman and CEO for Interface Polymers Dominique Fournier said, “This award is a major achievement for us as an emerging startup. It will help Interface Polymers secure further market interest and additional funding. The whole team is looking forward to collaborating with AkzoNobel. We have high hopes that using our unique surface functionality and polymer matrix compatibility additive technologies we can develop exciting new paint and coating products with improved performance and problem-solving functionalities that are not currently available.” 

Interface Polymers Ltd., a spin-out from the University of Warwick, was established in February 2016. The company has been developing a range of patented block copolymer Polarfin additive technology-based products in response to growing customer-led market demands for polyolefin surface functionality and polymer matrix compatibility solutions. Polarfin additives not only improve virgin materials, but can also overcome mixed polymer packaging recycling problems faced by the market due to the use of currently incompatible multilayer plastics, such as PE with PS/ PA/ PET.

The technology is highly versatile, enabling Interface Polymers to develop a growing family of additive products that may be used across a diverse range of markets, applications and polymer products in the value chain including: masterbatches and compounds; thermoplastic composites; filled polymers; sheet and film products. Polarfin additives offer enhanced material performance and reduced production costs, as well as enabling recycling across a wide range of applications in the packaging, construction, agriculture and automotive sectors.