Nanopaint is a company that develops, produces and markets functional inks, including electroactive inks and flexible sensors for different kinds of applications.

“Some of which are unique worldwide, allowing them to be printed in the form of flexible sensors using conventional low-cost and mass-production printing methods,” Founder and CEO Juliana Oliveira said.

Nanopaint emerged as a spinoff from the University of Minho (Portugal) in 2016, having acquired strong know-how on electroactive polymers, composites and nanoparticle synthesis, for more than 10 years, according to Oliveira.

Nanopaint’s largest markets include the US, India, South Korea, Germany and the UK.

Oliveira points to “several competitive advantages” that set Nanopaint apart from competitors.

“Nanopaint has several competitive advantages over most of its competitors since it has several formulations developed by itself that are protected and patented,” the CEO said. “Having an academic and experienced partner in the field of electroactive materials, Nanopaint is privileged to have access to the latest research in these materials, contributing to the development of new inks and printed sensors.

“In addition, Nanopaint is aware of and proactive in the development of inks/sensors with different materials that are reusable, recyclable and environmentally friendly.”

The company’s mission, per the founder, is to develop and commercialize electroactive and functional inks that can be printed in the form of sensors and flexible electronics.

“Being a 100% technology-based company, and having several strategic partners, it has the advantage of being at the forefront of this technological area and to innovate on the solutions to give to our clients,” Oliveira said. “Each client can have a different solution and tailored to its needs.

“Our vision is to be one of the leading manufacturers of functional inks worldwide and to develop printed sensors that can be used to overcome some of the limitations of current technology in the areas of biomedical, textile, automotive, sports, security, consumer electronics, among others.”

Printed sensors are a focus area for Nanopaint.

“Nanopaint detected a market opportunity with the production of printed sensors, since a large percentage of customers did not have the means and/or experience to use the functional inks and print them correctly,” Oliveira said. “This factor has led the company to strengthen its technical team in order to meet the necessary requirements in the development of each ink.

“Regarding the production of printed sensors,” she continued, “it became necessary to acquire machines and equipment for their development, implying an increase in investment and space in the company. This market need led Nanopaint to initiate the development of customized printed sensors for its customers’ applications.”

Nanopaint plans to expand into the Asia Pacific market – i.e. Japan, Singapore and China – where some of the largest manufacturers of flexible devices are located, Oliveira said.

Nanopaint also intends to develop new products and new inks such as transparent conductive inks “so that it can replace ITO (a material used in touch screens), as well as the development of electro-luminescent inks (printed OLEDs),” Oliveira said.

Ultimately, Nanopaint hopes to be recognized for its “excellence through our products, services and business relationships, always based on values such as quality, social responsibility, trust, continuous improvement, integrity and, above all, innovation and technology,” according to the CEO.

“In the future, we intend to have several distribution points to commercialize our inks and have different distributors in different places in the world to give us name recognition, credibility, knowledge and the ease of reaching new markets and new opportunities,” she added.