P2i Ltd attracts investment from Unilever Ventures

Funding to accelerate commercial roll-out of revolutionary ion-mask super-hydrophobic treatment

14 April 2008, Oxford, UK - ion-mask, the revolutionary super-hydrophobic treatment from P2i Ltd, has attracted substantial investment from Unilever Ventures.

The additional funding will allow P2i to accelerate the introduction of its ground-breaking ion-mask technology across its chosen market segments and expand its operations to maximise market penetration.

“The past few months have seen some amazing developments for us, not only signing our first high street customer for ion-mask but winning a prestigious Innovation award at the ISPO Show in Germany,” said P2i’s Business Development Director, Dr Ian Robins. “The benefits of ion-mask enhancement are well-known in performance textiles and laboratory disposables but with this additional investment we will now be able to take ion-mask to a far wider audience.”

“True technical innovation is a rarity these days but having tracked P2i’s progress over the past several months we spotted something pretty revolutionary in ion-mask,” added Director of Unilever Ventures, Mark Muth. “Having assessed the technology for both performance textiles and technical market segments, there’s no doubt this is a world class process and we are looking forward to working with P2i to accelerate its commercial roll-out into some exciting new sectors.”

Performance textiles and footwear

The ion-mask treatment of textiles and footwear delivers true waterproofing with no loss of breathability.Invisible to the naked eye and undetectable to touch, ion-mask can be applied to any product after their construction for a uniform, consistent result. Traditionally, textile waterproofing techniques have relied on extra layers which act as a suffocating barrier; or the chemical treatment of the material, which leaves the edges and seams created during the manufacture of the product exposed. Plasma technology works at a molecular level to change the way the surface reacts to liquids, delivering waterproof performance without inhibiting the circulation of air through the fabric for an effective, comfortable result.

About P2i

P2i Ltd was established in 2004 as part of the UK Ministry of Defence’s programme of commercialisation of government technologies.P2i Ltd was the first commercial spin-out for Dstl and relocated to Milton Park in Oxfordshire in January 2006. Their plasma enhancement technology stemmed from over six years of R&D and in-field use of ensuring lighter and more effective millitary protective clothing against chemical attack.

Ion-mask enhancement provided the answer, treating entire garments so that even zips were made highly liquid repellent. The breakthrough opened the door to potentially limitless applications.P2i has exclusive access to commercialising the ion-mask™ technology and is now commercialising it for the medical, biosciences, electronics, textile and automotive & aerospace markets.