| Project Detail |
There is currently no scalable, sustainable and non-toxic adhesive for the engineered wood industry. Manufacturers are having trouble to cope with more restrictive regulations (EU REACH, EPA) on formaldehyde-based adhesives for engineered wood products. Some manufacturers are experiencing around 15% productivity loss due to recent regulation tightening. Current adhesives are toxic to humans and have been connected to health problems (i.e. cancer), and new bio-based adhesives such as soy or lignin are not available in large quantities, are too slow to react in the press and too expensive
At Materialize.X, we have developed a biologically based adhesive that works within an industrial environment and is produced from an alternative feedstock, compliant with current regulations. On top of that, we offer a support software for optimization of production.
Our software and hardware are tightly interconnected: by modelling the manufacturing process, we can integrate our adhesive into the production line much faster and cheaper than with current trial and error methods.
Our company was founded in December 2016, and our team of 5 members has been able to successfully produce industrial-grade wood engineered pressed wood boards. To fund our innovation development and go to market we have already raised 350.000€ from business angels and are now closing a 450.000€ investment round.
The adhesives market is valued at €50 billion/year and the engineered wood market at €250 billion euro/year (in 7 EU countries it adds to €20 billion).
Our business model is based on dual revenue streams: SaaS fees for the software and a license fee for the use of our proprietary adhesive (UK patented, PCT to be submitted in May 2018).
We expect Materialize.X to become the main bio-based adhesive in the EU and globally, pushing for formaldehyde phase-out and putting the European wood engineering industry at the global leader in eco-innovation.
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