The European Innovation Council (EIC) has developed a dedicated GHG Tool to support EIC innovators in the assessment of their company’s carbon footprint. One of the tool’s aims is to inspire EIC beneficiaries by promoting innovative solutions for mitigating carbon emissions, so today, we are spotlighting the recent achievement of EIC Accelerator beneficiary IonKraft, an Aachen-based start-up. IonKraft have recently secured EUR 3.5 million in equity funding that will be used to prepare the market launch and future scaling of its plasma-based barrier coatings.
RecyClass has certified the recyclability of IonKraft’s coatings, confirming their potential to replace non-recyclable barrier alternatives. This could revolutionise future plastic packaging solutions.
From bold vision to the development of its coating machine prototype
IonKraft – a spin-off of Aachen University – came a long way since the start of its innovation journey, marked by the bold vision of one of its co-founders, Dr Montgomery Jaritz. Identifying a gap in the market regarding the recyclability of packaging and the potential of plasma technology to close that gap, he founded the company with his colleague, Benedikt Heuer, with the aim of shaping a sustainable future in the packaging industry.
Through the EIC-funded IonKraftCoating project, the innovators developed a proprietary coating system that enables fully recyclable plastic packaging that meets industry barrier standards. With the first industrial coating system on track for customer deployment by year’s end, IonKraft is poised to provide a solution to two major challenges in the packaging field: the high costs and non-recyclability of packaging with barrier properties.
On this last point, IonKraft’s co-founder, Benedikt Heuer commented:
Our coating technology sets a new industry standard for barrier packaging by eliminating non-recyclable materials and offering an environmentally friendly alternative. The EIC grant has been a key enabler in developing our technology from lab scale to market readiness. This progress helped us to convince our first customers and investors to support our mission.
IonKraft’s recent financing round closure: moving towards market launch
IonKraft’s most recent achievement came in November 2024, with the closing of an equity financing round of EUR 3.5 million, co-led by M Ventures and TechVision Fund and joined by High-Tech Gründerfonds.
This latter, diverse group of investors will provide significant support in view of the market launch of the first products with IonKraft coatings, scheduled for 2025.
Future prospects: minimising the carbon footprint of packaging
With the annual rate of plastic packaging recycling standing at 6 %, IonKraft’s replacement of non-recyclable, multilayer packaging with sustainable and fully recyclable plastic solutions could significantly contribute to the EU plastic strategy and fuel the transition to a circular economy.
In the longer term, backed by several studies which reveal the huge potential of recycling in reducing GHG emissions, IonKraft’s contributions to a more sustainable packaging industry could be even more significant.
As Heuer noted:
In our first target segment, we are replacing non-recyclable multilayer packaging. Going forward, our technology will also enable the use of recyclate in several applications and reduce the CO2-footprint of packaging.
About IonKraft
IonKraft, co-founded by Dr Montgomery Jaritz and Benefikt Heuer, is dedicated to making all plastic packaging recyclable and free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with the help of plasma coating technology. Supported by the EIC Accelerator, IonKraft is pioneering the future of packaging, shifting the focus to sustainability particularly in terms of recyclability and carbon footprint.
Learn more about IonKraft by visiting the Horizon Europe database and the official company website.
About the EIC GHG Tool
The EIC offers its beneficiaries a dedicated GHG tool, GHG Badges and the CO2 Neutral Label initiative, and further resources to help mitigate their CO2 emissions.
In addition, co-creation activities with corporates, industrial associations, regions in carbon transition and EIC beneficiaries are taking place on a regular basis.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.