Spin-out profile: POLYFECT SOLUTIONS
Polyfect Solutions has developed technology for low cost, homogeneous dispersal of virtually any functional filler into any thermoplastic polymer without the use of chemical compatibilisers.
BACKGROUND
Polyfect is a spin out from Loughborough University’s Institute of Polymer Technology & Materials Engineering. Initial funding was provided by IPSO Ventures, and the Lachesis Fund was also involved in the transaction.
PRODUCT
Polyfect has technology that demonstrates the ability both to reduce the cost of manufacturing plastic products and improve the quality of the plastic from which they are made.
The technology achieves savings and quality improvements through the highly efficient incorporation of functional fillers into plastics. Functional fillers are the materials which are used to change the properties of a plastic, for example, to make it non-static, to create gas barriers or change its pigmentation.
Conventional processes for incorporating functional fillers in plastics achieve far from optimal results with a significant proportion of the material being poorly dispersed. This necessitates the use of large quantities of filler to achieve the desired properties. The fillers are typically more expensive than the virgin plastic and also degrade the mechanical properties of the plastic. Polyfect’s technology allows significantly less filler to be used, resulting in both cost savings and quality improvements as well as having a positive environmental benefit. The process allows for a significant reduction in fillers such as carbon black. Polyfect’s technology also improves filler dispersion within plastics by up to around 10 times that of conventional processes.
Polyfect’s technology has the potential to enable the mass production of:
- Cheaper plastics using smaller quantities of expensive functional fillers
- Plastics with improved mechanical properties
- New classes of materials with highly attractive properties
FORWARD STRATEGY
Polyfect will license this technology to operators in the plastics’ supply chain for integration into their existing processes. Capital expenditure and running costs of using this technology are low whilst the potential material cost savings are high, making it profitable for licensees with a short payback time. Initial feedback from potential licensees on the technology has been very positive and IPSO believes that this business model should quickly generate high-margin royalty revenues for Polyfect. Initially, during scale-up, Polyfect will seek to work with a limited number of organisations that recognise the potential of the technology for their applications and wish to be amongst the first to realise its benefits.
CONTACT DETAILS
Polyfect Solutions Limited
Elizabeth House
39 York Road
London
SE1 7NQ
T: 01491 659069