Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IonKraftCoating (Plasma technology as enabler for sustainable plastic packaging)
Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31
Plastics have enormous recycling potential. However, many products require a higher barrier effect from their packaging than standard plastic materials can offer. In order to provide this barrier function, multi-material packaging or fluorine-based coatings are widely used today. These solutions are not recyclable or lead to the formation of PFAS, the harmful "forever chemicals". Depending on the industry, this accounts for up to 25% of all plastic packaging, which is a major problem for industry and the environment given the 16 million tons produced each year in Europe alone. IonKraft has developed the world's first fluorine-free plasma coating technology, which has the potential to eliminate all non-recyclable and PFAS-containing plastic packaging from the market, enabling companies to meet the targets of the EU plastic strategy. The start-up is now bringing this pioneering technology out of the lab and into industrial application with a pilot coating production plant, which is currently being built with the help of the EIC Accelerator Program. As soon as the plastic packaging is manufactured, it is fed to the coating machine, which will apply the coating onto the plastic packaging in a seamless and automated process. The machine will be placed at a packaging producer and pilot partner by the end of 2024.
Before the start of the EIC Project, IonKraft developed a prototype coating machine to apply coatings to different types of packaging. One target of the EIC-Project is to optimize the coating machine for industrial scale production and add an automated bottle handling system to integrate the machine in-line into a packaging production line.
A functional coating can only be applied with a homogeneous gas distribution in the packaging and a homogeneous energy density of the microwave field. The design of the coating machine was optimized based on simulation methods using fluid dynamics to optimize the process gas flow and energy field modelling software to optimize the energy input into the system.
As soon as a plastic packaging is manufactured, it is directly fed in-line to the IonKraft coating machine, which will apply the coating onto the plastic packaging in a seamless and automated process. The coating machine must therefore match the production speed of existing packaging production lines. IonKraft conceptualised and designed a handling system for continuous coating production in collaboration with a partner company, which feeds the plastic packaging into the coating reactor from and to a continuously running conveyor belt. With this design, the pilot machine will achieve an output of 700 coated canisters per hour in accordance with industry and safety standards. The systems has a modular design and can be scaled cost-effectively, flexibly, and individually according to customer requirements.
A functional coating can only be applied with a homogeneous gas distribution in the packaging and a homogeneous energy density of the microwave field. The design of the coating machine was optimized based on simulation methods using fluid dynamics to optimize the process gas flow and energy field modelling software to optimize the energy input into the system.
As soon as a plastic packaging is manufactured, it is directly fed in-line to the IonKraft coating machine, which will apply the coating onto the plastic packaging in a seamless and automated process. The coating machine must therefore match the production speed of existing packaging production lines. IonKraft conceptualised and designed a handling system for continuous coating production in collaboration with a partner company, which feeds the plastic packaging into the coating reactor from and to a continuously running conveyor belt. With this design, the pilot machine will achieve an output of 700 coated canisters per hour in accordance with industry and safety standards. The systems has a modular design and can be scaled cost-effectively, flexibly, and individually according to customer requirements.
Even with a layer thickness well below 50 nanometers, the IonKraft coatings create a gas and solvent barrier as well as a high level of corrosion protection against aggressive media. Various benchmark studies have shown that the coatings have the potential to outperform even the oxygen barrier of multi-material systems with EVOH as a barrier plastic. Under the influence of corrosive media such as caustic soda at high temperatures, the coatings remain stable and intact. This means that the layers can also withstand washing processes with aggressive alkaline solutions in the reusable process and serve as an enabler for more reusability. The coating is food-safe and can be applied to all common packaging plastics.
This technology is the only solution in the world that is able to satisfy the market demand for a high barrier effect of packaging and at the same time help the industry (customers and users) to meet the demands of consumers and the EU plastics strategy for sustainable plastic packaging.
With the achievements made in the development of the industrial plant design, IonKraft was able to create a first of its kind plasma coating system that can deliver these innovative coatings into plastic containers in an economically viable and technologically stable manner.
This technology is the only solution in the world that is able to satisfy the market demand for a high barrier effect of packaging and at the same time help the industry (customers and users) to meet the demands of consumers and the EU plastics strategy for sustainable plastic packaging.
With the achievements made in the development of the industrial plant design, IonKraft was able to create a first of its kind plasma coating system that can deliver these innovative coatings into plastic containers in an economically viable and technologically stable manner.