(AGENPARL) – gio 13 aprile 2023 Akzo Nobel N.V
Media release
Christian Neefestraat 2
1077 WW Amsterdam
P.O. Box 75730
http://www.akzonobel.com
1070 AS Amsterdam
Netherlands
April
AkzoNobel and Philips welcome Damen Shipyards to pioneering antifouling
partnership
(AKZA; AKZOY)
Damen Shipyards has joined AkzoNobel and Philips to help further develop a pioneering fouling
control
solution which uses UV
light
technology to keep ships’ underwater hulls
clean
The technology being used
integrates UV
light
emitting diodes
(LEDs)
in a coating scheme which
emits
just enough
light to
provide
total prevention of bio
fouling accumulation on the protected area.
Although
successful
small
scale trials have already
taken place, bringing Damen Shipyards on board
will add
vital expertise in
s such as
vessel integration
perfectly complementing AkzoNobel’s
surface protection and adhesion know
how and Philips’ unrivalled capabilities in UV
applications
electronics.
“We’re both delighted and excited to welcome Damen Shipyards to the consortium,”
says Ralph
Slikkerveer, Research and Development Director for Marine, Protective and Yacht Coatings at
AkzoNobel.
“As a leading international shipbuilder, they’l
l bring essential knowledge and experience
and significantly increase our chances of success.”
All three parties will now work together to build on the progress that AkzoNobel and
Philips have
consortium in 2017. The goal is to create a fully biocide
free
fouling control
solution which will provide groundbreaking performance, leading to substantial
economic and environmental benefits.
“As a leading global innovator
Philips
continuously dev
and expand
its extensive catalog
of technologies that bring opportunities for growth and innovation in many business areas,
” explains
Jako Eleveld,
ead of IP Licensing at Philips.
By offering access to our technologies th
ough our
technology
icensing programs, we drive cooperation with partners that share our commitment to
deliver
impactful innovations. It
great to see that Philips’ UV
C technology has found its way to
this innovative antifouling solution
which
will benefit the shipping
industry while at the same time
enabl
a positive environmental impact.
Jasper Schuringa
, Head of Corporate Venturing at Damen Shipyards
, adds:
“This is a very exciting
project and an excellent fit with our own strategy to become the world’s most
sustainable shipbuilder
There’s still some way to go, but the solution being developed clearly has the potential to reshape
how the industry has traditionally thought about anti
fouling systems.”
It was back in 2014 when Philips first started experiment
ing with UV
C LED technology
known from
its use in water treatment and sterilization applications
but it had never been used in open water.
Since joining forces with AkzoNobel, promising progress has been made to the point where trials on
commercial tr
ading vessels have taken place.
As well as continu
ing to
improv
technology, a
next step for the consortium is vessel
integration, and all three partners will now work towards creating a commercially viable solution
in the
near future
“It’s a c
hallenging project, but it’s also a fantastic example of the benefits of collaborative innovation,”
continues
Slikkerveer
. “By working together
strong
partnership
of three complementary Dutch
companies
, we’re confident we can
combine our capabilities to
deliver a
sustainable solution
that
could
.”
About AkzoNobel
We supply the sustainable and innovative paints and coatings that our customers, communities
and the environ
ment
are increasingly relying
Our world class portfolio of brands
including Dulux, International,
Sikkens and Interpon
is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re
active in more than 150
countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect
from a pioneering paints
company that’s committed to science
based targets and is ta
genuine action to address globally relevant challenges and protect future
generations.
Not for publication
for more information
Media Relations
T +31 (0)88
Contact: Joost Ruempol