CodiKoat, the company based at The EpiCentre in Haverhill has beaten a highly competitive field to be awarded a £330,000 UK Research and Innovation grant. The grant will fund CodiKoat’s development of new antimicrobial reusable food packaging solutions.
Incredibly, to date CodiKoat have been successful in all eight grants that it has applied for from Innovate UK, with over £2.1m in grant funding received in under three years.
This latest grant success will enable CodiKoat to test and deliver new antimicrobial reusable food packaging formats, which the company are calling “CodiPac”.
CodiPac will introduce CodiKoat’s novel antimicrobial technology Cydal to the food packaging manufacturing process, a technology which is independently certified to kill 99.99% of viruses, bacteria and fungi on surfaces within seconds.
The aim of the project is to reduce the environmental impact associated with the need for high temperature washing or chemical sterilisation for typical types of reusable food packaging. CodiKoat will work with supermarkets and consumers to assess the viability of this alternative to single-use packaging.
New CodiKoat CEO Blake Gudgel said, “We are delighted to have been successful in this latest funding application to Innovate UK, who have been an essential partner to the ongoing growth and innovation at CodiKoat.
And, Andrew Bell, Centre Manager at The EpiCentre, says: “It gives us great pleasure to see CodiKoat, one of The EpiCentre’s early occupiers, being successful with its grant applications on what are significant innovations.”
The grant forms part of an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of plastic food packaging by the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Propelled by the support of Innovate UK, CodiKoat have established a world-class team and made remarkable scientific breakthroughs as they push their antiviral technologies towards commercialisation.
The first funding application CodiKoat made to Innovate UK has formed the foundation for many of the later scientific developments made by the business. Born in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, CodiKoat sought to develop a unique novel process for giving frequently contacted surfaces virucidal properties, and to deliver that in a more sustainable, durable and effective way.
That technology has since been independently ISO-certified as the fastest antiviral protection of its kind in the world, killing 99.99% of virus particles within seconds of contact.
Seven successful funding applications followed for a variety of purposes, as the scope and extraordinary potential of the new technology became more apparent. Funding has been received for the development and prototyping of industry-changing products including antiviral air filters, sustainable and reusable cups for events and festivals and antimicrobial face masks.
The sustained support shown by Innovate UK in CodiKoat highlights the importance and value of UK-based funding for establishing the UK as world leaders in scientific innovation.
