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Success stories from NRW

Excellence Coatings GmbH

– Gradually replace PFAS –

Excellence Coatings is a spin-off from the University of Paderborn . The young company develops and produces additives that water- and dirt-repellent surface coatings - without the use of environmentally harmful PFAS .

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The challenge

The two chemists Dr. Deniz Dogan and Dr. David Wedegärtner have known each other since the first semester. You studied chemistry at the University of Paderborn - with a special focus. “We were interested in paints from the start. This focus only exists at one university in Germany, the University of Paderborn,” says Wedegärtner. And they have something else in common: Even during their studies, long before they graduated, they had the idea of ​​becoming self-employed one day. “If we come across a good idea, we’ll start a company,” they said to themselves. This idea matured as my fellow students worked on adding varnishes. Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS for short, are often used. They are valued by the industry as paint additives because of their water, grease and dirt-repellent properties. “But there is a huge problem,” explains Wedegärtner, “they don’t break down in nature, but rather accumulate.” A ban is now being discussed at EU level. Depending on the application, an alternative is silicone-based additives.

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  • Photos: Excellence Coatings GmbH
  • Text: Lothar Schmitz, business journalist Bonn
  • Release: October 2024

Dr. David Wedegärtner, Co-Founder Excellence Coatings GmbH

“We have come a long way with silicone coatings, and we are now increasingly focusing on sustainable coatings based on green raw materials.”

The innovation

During a project at the University of Paderborn, Wedegärtner and Dogan discovered that the surface structure of paints can be controlled using certain parameters by adding silicone-based paint components. This makes it possible to influence the surface properties of paints. In the course of her research, a business idea increasingly emerged: namely a process that makes it possible to develop innovative, PFAS-free, easy-to-clean additives and coatings for various applications. To advance this idea, they founded Excellence Coatings GmbH together with business economist Sven Wauschkuhn as an EXIST-funded spin-off from the University of Paderborn. Since then, they have not only refined the process but are already producers. The additive “Aversil” can be used to produce water- and dirt-repellent surface coatings. “Our additive already comes close to the properties of PFAS-based paint additives,” emphasizes Dogan, “which is why they can already replace PFAS in some applications.” At the latest when PFAS are banned, alternative additives could be in their prime. The first customers are already relying on the product from Excellence Coatings. You can use it to produce easy-to-clean paints, for example.

More about Excellence Coatings GmbH

The NRW effect

The start-up is very satisfied with its location in Paderborn and North Rhine-Westphalia. It has already benefited from funding programs on several occasions, such as the “START-UP university spin-offs NRW” competition. In February 2024, Excellence Coatings also won the “ESC GreenTech Pitch” at the “moonshots & moneten” start-up summit in Paderborn. The start-up received prize money totaling 20,000 euros sponsored by NRW.BANK. “NRW really offers an excellent funding landscape for our type of start-up,” praises Wedegärtner. In addition, Paderborn in particular offers a very good infrastructure and a lot of know-how. “Without the support of the Coatings, Materials & Polymers working group of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bremser and the founding network garage33, a successful spin-off would not have been possible,” explains Dogan. The application for another start-up funding is currently underway: “Green Start-ups.NRW”. In this context, Wedegärtner reveals the young company's next development step: "We have come a long way with silicone coatings, and we are now increasingly focusing on sustainable coatings based on green raw materials."

This success story of an innovative transformation was published in October 2024. There will be no updates or checks of the information afterwards

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KUER Business Plan Competition Transform your innovative business idea into a viable business plan! Do you have a creative idea for a product, process or service in the areas of climate, environment, energy or resource conservation and would like to become self-employed? Or do you run a young environmental business in North Rhine-Westphalia that is no older than two years and would like to develop your business concept professionally? Then take part in the KUER business plan competition! Within five months, you will create your business plan, supported by a personal mentor and expert. You benefit from a comprehensive range of qualifications, valuable contacts with specialists from the KUER industries and networks...
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Transformation through innovation

Background to the publication series

The publication series “Transformation through Innovation” is intended to illustrate how companies in North Rhine-Westphalia have been able to write successful innovation stories thanks to the framework conditions created by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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