Italian biotechnology company Bio-on and Dutch paints and coatings producer AkzoNobel have agreed to further their collaboration in developing protective solutions against marine biofouling on boats, docks, tidal energy equipment and the like.
The collaboration aims to continue investigation on the use of Bio-on’s biodegradable and bio-based polymers as components in fouling control coatings designed to prevent the unwanted accumulation of marine organisms on boats, ships, tidal power plants and other installations.

"We are particularly proud and happy with the decision to continue working with AkzoNobel for two main reasons," said Marco Astorri, Bio-on's CEO and Chairman. First of all because we will continue to work with some of the best researchers in the chemical industry and secondly because we will be able to demonstrate further the amazing application possibilities of our biopolymers."

The agreement follows the promising results the two companies achieved within the Synergistic Fouling Control Technologies (SEAFRONT) project, funded by the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission.

The companies have decided to continue R&D activities beyond the SEAFRONT project in order to further demonstrate the already developed systems and initiate work on new formulations.

Arie Brouwer of the Dutch Polymer Institute and coordinator of the SEAFRONT Project, said: “These results and continued cooperation are good examples of the many valuable outcomes of the SEAFRONT Project, which started in 2014 and will end this year.

“In SEAFRONT a consortium of 19 companies and knowledge institutes are working together in a unique way on anti-fouling solutions for marine applications.

“The consortium can be proud that they have successfully achieved the main objectives such as creating surfaces which reduce hydrodynamic drag by 5% and, thanks to the excellent work of Bio-on and AkzoNobel, generated very good results for new fouling control coatings utilising bio-based polymers.”

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