A revolutionary breakthrough for the packaging industry
International finance and business magazine CFI honors NP® Liquid Glass technology as Europe’s “Best Green Alternative Innovation 2020” London, UK / Schwalbach, Germany. July 30, 2020 By its own account “without hesitation”, the jury of Capital Finance International (CFI) named Nanopool GmbH, with its unique NP® Liquid Glass technology for ultra-thin protective coatings, the winner of the “Best Green Alternative Innovation Europe 2020” award. Particular emphasis was placed on the “revolutionary breakthrough” in the field of environmentally friendly packaging: the sustainable NP® technology gives biodegradable materials such as paper and cardboard water- and oil-repellent properties, and additionally offers, among other things, mold- and odor-repellent protection – and, in the future, even antiviral protection. Its effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen has already been confirmed by medical technology researchers as part of an interdisciplinary series of studies. Cardboard as the new super-packaging: The NP® protective coating makes it possible Until now, the possible uses and design of paper-based packaging have been severely limited by the respective properties of the necessary protective coating. The NP® Liquid Glass technology, on the other hand, offers flexibility in two respects: Firstly, NP® Liquid Glass can easily be applied to packaging of any size and shape, giving cardboard manufacturers unprecedented freedom in the design of their products. Secondly, the functionality of the ultra-thin protective layer can be continuously extended: until a few months ago, it was primarily the repulsion of moisture, grease, odors and gases that posed challenges for manufacturers of sustainable paper and cardboard packaging. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the adhesion of viruses has become an additional problem. To meet this market development, Nanopool GmbH has successfully had a virus protection tested for its effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen and will in future be able to embed it into the existing NP® product matrix without having to make any changes to the rest of the coating process. “It’s a bit like a smartphone,” explains Sascha Schwindt, Managing Director of Nanopool GmbH, describing the principle. “Just like a smartphone in its factory state, our base matrix is already highly versatile. It gives surfaces superphobic properties that prevent moisture, dirt and microorganisms from adhering stubbornly. Incidentally, appearance, feel and breathability are not affected. But just as a smartphone becomes even more customizable through apps, we can extend our base product with a wide variety of active agents. This makes our solution exceptionally versatile and flexible. An important market advantage – after all, who knows what unexpected requirements the future will bring!” This means nothing now stands in the way of the packaging industry opening up entirely new applications. At the same time, NP® Liquid Glass equips companies for the pressing environmental situation and the related legal requirements: Plastic-free and environmentally friendly: back into the natural cycle after use Conventional coating processes turn inherently biodegradable paper into composite materials by adding metals or plastics such as aluminum or polyethylene (PE), which then have to be disposed of separately. The versatile NP® Liquid Glass coating, on the other hand, is based on silicon dioxide, SiO2 for short, a completely harmless element found in nature in quartz sand. This means that any packaging that is biodegradable per se can be easily recycled even after coating. In view of constantly rising consumer demands regarding the sustainability of products and increasingly strict regulations in the fight against plastic, this is a clear advantage for every manufacturer, whether […]