University of Warwick spin-out Interface Polymers Ltd is pioneering a new way of making plastic alloys and composite materials.
The work uses the company’s patented range of polymer additives named Polarfins, which modify the surface properties of commodity plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene, making them easier to coat, adhere to and mix with other materials.
Having recently won £500,000 from Innovate UK to fund production scale-up and application development, the company is looking for seed capital investment of £1.5m to complete the first funding round.
CEO Phil Smith, said “This technology promises to open up a world of innovation in the plastics industry. The addressable market is worth at least $3 billion per annum so the potential scale of this business is substantial
“Our initial focus is to prove the value proposition for our materials in pilot scale trials. We are also talking to specialty chemical and plastics formulation businesses about collaborative R&D projects that will generate early revenue through licensing. Our aim is to de-risk the venture for early investors while enabling the company to build up its intellectual property assets.”
The research breakthrough was made by Chief Scientific Officer Dr Chris Kay while working as a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Peter Scott in the University of Warwick’s Chemistry Department.
Using a simple and industrially-convenient process, Dr Kay is able to create a range of copolymers comprising a polyolefin segment joined in the middle of the molecular chain to a polar polymer segment.
When added in small percentages to a polyolefin resin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, the additive molecules migrate to the surface and render it more attractive to other polar materials such as metals, ceramics and polar polymers such as acrylic, styrene or vinyl acetate based resins.
The ability to independently modify both segments in the copolymer chain is unique and allows the company to adapt its Polarfin additives to a diverse range of applications in which two or more previously incompatible materials can be stuck together or mixed.
Dr Kay said: “We have now spoken to over 100 potential customers across Europe and North America and it has been very encouraging to see people getting very excited about how they could use our materials to solve existing problems and develop new products. With their input, we are already focusing on a shortlist of the most promising opportunities with high margins and fast adoption potential.”
Simon Waddington, who joined as Business Development Director after a long career with the Dow Chemical Corporation, said: “We are talking to some of the leading innovators in the polymer industry and there is a growing sense that the timing is good for us. People are looking for alternatives to chemical adhesion promoters and our technology has the potential to meet that need, too.”