In the latest episode of the Talks with Turquoise podcast, Turquoise Managing Director Ian Thomas sits down with Guy Newcombe, CEO and co-founder of Archipelago Technology Group, for a compelling conversation about one of the most persistent challenges in sustainable packaging: replacing plastic without compromising performance.
Roughly 150 million tonnes of plastic packaging roll off production lines every year and only about ten per cent is ever recycled. The remaining 135 million tonnes are burned, landfilled or (too often) find their way into rivers and oceans. Paper and moulded fibre look like obvious substitutes – after all, they quite literally grow on trees – but they absorb moisture and oils, are pervious to gases and lose structural strength when wet. A solution to this is Powerdrop™, an ‘industrial inkjet for coatings’, that unlocks one of the toughest challenges in the race to end plastic waste: giving humble paper the barrier properties of plastic, at industrial scale, with very little waste.
At its core, Powerdrop™ is a large precision drum that houses thousands of nozzles embedded within its structure, with the nozzles passing through the drum itself. Unlike traditional spray coating (where liquid is atomised at high pressure, half of it drifting into the air) Powerdrop™ preforms uniform droplets inside the drum, then ‘wafts’ them onto the target with lowenergy air that minimises overspray. Whether it’s applied to coffee capsules, chilled meat trays, or yoghurt pots, Powerdrop™ enables packaging that performs like plastic but recycles like paper.
Listen now for:
- A behind-the-scenes look at how Powerdrop™ works: ‘industrial inkjet meets barrier coatings’
- Why most coating methods fall short for moulded fibre and paper
- Insight into scaling technology: from concept to supermarket shelf
- Market context for brands and suppliers racing to hit plastic-reduction targets
- Candid founder experience: from problem discovery to investor-backed solution
In October 2023, Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2), managed by Turquoise International, invested in Archipelago Technology Group as part of a capital raising round of nearly £1.5 million, comprising both equity and an Innovate UK grant provided under the Future Economy Programme. The investment is powering the company’s next stage of growth and its acceleration to meet market demand.
Listen to the full discussion here: https://tinyurl.com/mta2ryec.
To learn more about Archipelago Technology Group, visit: https://www.archipelagotechnology.com/