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Peak Nano today announced a new development program to create first-of-its-kind nanolayered biodegradable multilayer polymer films for food, beverage, and medical packaging. Supported by R&D funding from the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub, Peak Nano is leveraging its patented NanoPlex™ metamaterials technology to design an advanced, sustainable alternative to these barrier films without impacting performance.
Selected through a competitive process that reviewed more than 40 proposals from across the region, Peak Nano's project is one of eight receiving Innovation Hub support. It targets to replace traditional multilayer packaging film, which can contain many tightly bonded layers of polymers and additives that are difficult or impossible to recycle. These materials fragment over time, shedding micro‑ and nanoparticles into soils, waterways, and the broader environment. Peak Nano's high‑performance barrier films are designed for distinct performance advantages in demanding food and medical applications, protecting product quality and safety, and are engineered for biodegradability over time.
Peak Nano's NanoPlex technology, developed at Case Western Reserve University with leading polymer scientists like Eric Baer and Lei Zhu, professors of macromolecular science & engineering, enables the creation of films containing thousands of precisely controlled polymer layers, as opposed to melted blends. This makes it possible to combine several polymer characteristics in one material, almost like a circuit board, creating unprecedented control over properties like atmospherics, molecular permeability, biodegradability, conductivity, and insulation. The nanolayer coextrusion and biaxial orientation processes also boost oxygen and water‑vapor resistance, improving durability so the films can withstand real‑world converting and packaging operations without contributing to long‑term microplastic waste.
"With NanoPlex™, we can create nano‑layers that let us dial in characteristics like barrier performance, mechanical strength, and even degradability," said Dr. Michael Ponting, Chief Scientific Officer at Peak Nano. "This lets us tackle one of the toughest problems in packaging. We can now design biodegradable nanolayer structures that give converters the barrier and mechanical properties they need, with a much better end‑of‑life story."
Peak Nano's project is part of a broader slate of Innovation Hub-funded initiatives in biobased materials, recyclable packaging, eco‑polymer platforms, and performance materials. The Hub, powered by the Polymer Industry Cluster and the Greater Akron Chamber, is deploying a $42 million Innovation Hubs award and matching funds over four years to advance shared R&D priorities, stand up a polymer pilot facility, and support startups and scaleups bringing sustainable polymer solutions to market.
"The Polymer Industry Cluster was created to tackle shared problems that no single company can solve," said Hans Dorfi, Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer, Polymer Industry Cluster. "Peak Nano's films show how we can align world‑class materials science with our region's deep expertise in polymer science and advanced manufacturing to address global environmental challenges and create new economic opportunities here at home."
In the current phase, Peak Nano and its partners will produce prototype biodegradable nanolayer film systems and evaluate them on commercial equipment used for food and medical packaging. Subsequent phases include biodegradability testing, cost and scale‑up modeling, and a commercialization roadmap for supplying nanolayered biodegradable films to brand owners and converters at scale. Peak Nano expects to leverage both its Ohio manufacturing footprint and regional partners to bring these materials into broader commercial use.
"This collaboration is about turning leadership in advanced materials into commercial reality with regional economic impact," said Jean-Claude Kihn, former CTO of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Co-Chair of the Hub's Innovation & Commercialization Committee. "By backing Peak Nano's technology and scale‑up in Ohio, we're helping translate the state's century‑long polymer heritage into next‑generation sustainable materials and high‑value jobs."