Akzo Announce Winners of Paint the Future Awards

Three exciting days of face-to-face collaboration with AkzoNobel experts have opened doors for several startups – including Interface Polymers from the UK – to “paint the future” with their innovations.

The Paint the Future Award Interface Polymers received at the final event of an international five- month-long challenge comes with AkzoNobel’s commitment to work together on sustainable business opportunities through a joint collaboration agreement. Interface Polymers, from Loughborough,captured the jury’s imagination with di-block polymers that tune surface functionality.

“We’re very excited to continue our collaborative journey with the recipients of the Paint the Future awards, including Interface Polymers,” says Klaas Kruithof, AkzoNobel’s Chief Technology Officerand Chairman of the Paint the Future jury. “Together, we’re going to drive innovation in paints and coatings beyond expectation, imagination and generations. With the power of an entire ecosystembehind us, big things are on the horizon.”

“This is something that can make or break a company – and winning this award is just the best thingfor our team,” says Dr. Tim Clayfield of Interface Polymers. “We want to go out now and get more funding with the power of this agreement behind us.”

Several other startups – QLayers and Alucha Recycling Technologies from the Netherlands, and Apellix and SAS Nanotechnologies from the USA – were rewarded with a Paint the Future Award, while Octo from the Netherlands took home the KPMG Scale-upTrack Award. With Interface Polymers, these partnerships represent the first collaborations to emerge from AkzoNobel’s new Paint the Future innovation ecosystem. Working together with others in this network, AkzoNobel will continue delighting its customers while further pushing the boundaries of the paints and coatings industry.

The challenge, run in partnership with KPMG, received 160 total submissions from around the world. Of those, 21 startups were invited to Amsterdam, the Netherlands to accelerate their solutions before making their final pitch to the jury. All challenge participants gained access to industry knowledge, expertise and contacts that will help them further their ideas.

For more information about AkzoNobel’s startup challenge, visit letspaintthefuture.com.

Source: Insight DIY Team & Akzo Nobel press release.

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