Enhancing biomaterials’ water resistance through chemical modification increases their potential to replace emissions-heavy materials and provide a major reduction in manufacturing carbon dioxide. Jack Andrew explains how start-up Cellexcel is working with funders and academia to accelerate commercialisation of the technology.
Everyone understands the need to decarbonise and create a more sustainable world. However, often switching to greener alternatives brings challenges. For example, biomaterials (made from plants such as flax or hemp) provide a lightweight alternative to non-renewable, energy intensive materials such as polycarbonates, metal or fibreglass composites within applications such as composite vehicle and aircraft panels. Biomaterials result in an 80-90% reduction in manufacturing CO2.
However, as they naturally absorb moisture, biomaterials normally decay, limiting their use to internal applications, such as interior car panels. What is needed is to improve their water resistance, while retaining – and enhancing – other properties and ensuring the technology is environmentally friendly.
Innovate UK therefore supported Professor Richard Stephenson of the University of East Anglia (UEA) to look at improving biomaterial water resistance. This led to a long-term research project, which initially created a solution based on organic solvent-based chemistry.
As they naturally absorb moisture, biomaterials normally decay, limiting their use to internal applications, such as interior car panels. What is needed is to improve their water resistance
However, while performance was strong, the team understood that it couldn’t be commercialised in its current form and a greener platform technology was needed. A follow-on grant from Ceres Agri-Tech allowed the team to revise the chemistry to work in water and demonstrate it on 50 metre fabric lengths – enough for a substantial application project.
Scaling up
This achievement allowed the research team to commercialise an improved aqueous, water-based platform technology that works at a molecular level, going far beyond simple surface treatments, coatings or sealants. By delivering, and attaching, unique compounds to the cellulose molecule itself, essential performance properties can be measurably enhanced. The tech is environmentally friendly as it does not contain any Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or ‘forever’ chemicals). Water resistance is the initial property we focused on, by inserting a hydrophobic ‘property enhancing compound’. However, we can also use the same delivery and attachment method to impact other biomaterial properties, enabling them to be used across more applications.
I joined the team during the trial process for this new platform. Our extensive testing combined innovation in the lab with real-world impact. We worked closely with composite fabrication, material treatment and analysis companies to measure performance and iterate the technology in line with feedback. Based on this, we significantly upgraded the platform, meaning we are currently achieving a 70% enhancement of water resistance and are on a path to increase this.
During the development journey we’ve built a strong team and turned the underlying technology and IP into a company, Cellexcel, backed by initial funding from Ceres, Innovate UK and Norwich Research Park. We’ve just closed our first funding round of over £250,000 and are moving forward with commercialisation, working with multiple companies across the materials ecosystem.
Lessons from the journey
Looking back at our journey so far, it has been great to see the power of our cross-functional team; learning and sharing both business and chemistry, so we can successfully bring our technology to the market. Hopefully sharing these lessons will help others as they move projects forward from the lab to the factory:
The path is never straightforward
Whatever area of chemistry you are in, you’re trying to take a path from where you are now, to where you want to be. Pretty often you’ll encounter walls that block this path, leading to a need to focus on problem-solving and different approaches. The fact that our platform is radically different to the first attempts show that you need to be open to being challenged to get to your destination.
Talk to your potential customers
If you are trying to solve a problem in a particular field, talk to people in the ecosystem to find out their actual wants and needs. Often, they’ll have a wider range of requirements than the one you are working on. The more needs you can meet, the higher the chances of it being adopted. Also, think outside the box – are there other applications for your technology? It’s easy to become fixated on your original use case when others might also be equally valid as markets.
Access the support that’s available
The positive news is that there’s an entire ecosystem of support for new ideas and for helping take them forward. I’ve mentioned the backing Ceres and Innovate UK have provided, but as a research scientist I’m continually impressed by the daily assistance we get from the UEA, where our lab is based. Not only is the equipment provided state-ofthe- art, but we also have seamless access to a wide range of services.
For example, if we need analysis of a trial I can run it on a machine in a neighbouring building, rather than having to outsource it to a commercial provider, with the dela ys that entails. So, investigate options at your local university and how they can help you.
Cellexcel’s Cellexcellent platform technology is now well-advanced and we’re working with commercial partners. At the same time we’re still innovating and developing new applications based on our platform, keeping us all busy in the lab for the foreseeable future.
Dr Jack Andrew is principal technologist at Cellexcel
