Essen, Germany - Evonik’s Sustainability Tech Fund, established in 2022 by the venture capital arm of the company, has invested in the British specialist in compatibiliser technology, Interface Polymers Ltd.
The additive solutions developed by Interface Polymers, markets under the Polarfin name, simplify the processing of plastics such as mixtures with polyethylene or polypropylene. At the same time, the technology makes it possible to recycle such plastics, thereby solving one of the biggest problems in the recycling process.
PE and PP are widely used materials that are often selected for use because of their versatility, light weight and durability. They have one major drawback: their poor compatibility with other materials. Interface Polymers’ technology renders the time-consuming and expensive surface preparation hitherto required for recycling these plastics unnecessary, and reduces the amount of additives needed.
The technology aligns with Evonik’s work on developing solutions that promote the circular economy and falls within the scope of the investments targeted by the Sustainability Tech fund. The focus of the fund is innovative technologies and business models to reduce emissions as well as on innovations that have a high technological fit with ‘Next Generation Solutions.’
Plastics recycling still presents a challenge, said Bernhard Mohr, the head of Venture Capital at Evonik.
“Interface Polymers’ additive technology offers a solution and is an excellent fit with Evonik’s Circular Plastics Program.”
In addition to the investment by the Sustainability Tech Fund, Evonik’s Coating Additives business line has agreed an extensive development partnership with Interface Polymers for using its technology in paints and coatings.“We are impressed by the speed with which Interface Polymers has developed in the past two years. With its help, we want to reduce or even eliminate the intensive pretreatment of surfaces,” said Elias Lacerda, head of Evonik’s Coating Additives business line.
Interface Polymers was established in 2016 to commercialise inventions made in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick in the UK. Its Polarfin technology makes the surface of polyolefins compatible with other materials. Diblock copolymers combine polyethylene and polypropylene with polar materials to improve their compatibility with metals, ceramics, and other plastics, offering multiple advantages in the recycling of mixed plastics, the adhesion of paints inks and glues to plastic surfaces, and the dispersion of materials within moulded plastics.
Evonik Sustainability Tech Fund, located in Hanau, Germany, targets specialty chemicals and other materials, preferably with the primary objective of achieving CO2 mitigation by reducing and removing emissions. The six search fields of the fund are clean energy production, drive circularity, feedstock switch & substitution, future mobility, hydrogen economy, and renewable carbon.