Title: From Laboratory Bench to Pilot Plant: The Interface Polymers Expedition and the Hurdles of Expansion in the UK
Chris Kay’s entrepreneurial path from PhD candidate at the University of Warwick to CEO of Interface Polymers embodies the potential and risks of deep tech innovation in the UK. Together with chemistry professor Peter Scott, Kay co-established Interface Polymers to bring to market a groundbreaking category of polymer materials called Polarfin. However, despite identifying a strong global demand for their products, the journey to scale their innovation has proven to be anything but easy — especially within the UK.
A Bright Beginning: The Birth of Interface Polymers
Kay’s investigations were centered on streamlining polymer production. This academic exploration resulted in the creation of diblock copolymers that could greatly improve adhesion and compatibility among various plastics — a significant obstacle in both recycling and product design. The outcome was the Polarfin product line. The first offering, a compatibiliser, enhances the properties and recyclability of mixed plastic waste. The second is a coating that allows commonly used but difficult-to-bond polypropylene to attach to standard adhesives.
With a burgeoning team of 18, Interface Polymers swiftly evolved from an academic spinout into a commercial entity. Their breakthrough had the potential to tackle urgent environmental issues such as plastic recycling while simultaneously improving material performance in industrial applications.
The Deep Tech Challenge: Funding and Facilities
Kay characterizes his company’s nascent phase as a “classic deep tech journey” — developing the technology, demonstrating its value, and establishing commercial traction. But when the company was poised to boost production, the actual difficulties began.
“The UK is simply not well-equipped for this kind of endeavor today,” Kay states candidly. Their search for appropriate pilot-scale manufacturing facilities within the UK revealed a concerning deficiency in infrastructure. Visits to well-known industry sites like the Wilton and Sedgefield locations under the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) were disappointing. Instead of the state-of-the-art, modular setup the company anticipated, they encountered old machinery and a lack of the expertise required to bring their plans to fruition.
Looking Abroad: Expanding Internationally
The Interface Polymers team broadened their horizons — investigating alternatives in the US, Norway, and Finland. They even examined a former Dow Chemical site in Charleston, USA. Though technically adept, the expenses were excessive: £1 million produced only a few hundred kilograms of product, with engineering charges alone reaching hundreds of dollars per hour.
In the end, India presented the solution. After being introduced by a shareholder to the CEO of a local chemical enterprise, Interface Polymers secured a partnership. The collaborator would invest in Interface Polymers while concurrently constructing and managing a tailored pilot plant for them in India.
“In India, for $2 million, we were able to build the entire plant and get it operational within six months. That level of speed and cost-effectiveness is challenging to replicate elsewhere,” Kay admits. However, he also mentions compromises in quality and logistics — issues arising from the lengthy journey between the UK and India, and the necessity for close, ongoing quality control.
Insights Gained and a Call for Transformation
Why did it take Interface Polymers nearly ten years to reach this stage? Kay contends that the solution lies in the UK’s disjointed support framework for deep tech manufacturing. While areas of excellence exist — like Science Creates in Bristol — there is no unified, national network of scaling facilities or funding avenues. “Current Innovate UK grants are useful, but the sums are too small, the application procedures too complicated, and the returns too limited to support industrial-scale aspirations,” he remarks.
Kay argues that while the UK excels at generating knowledge, it struggles to translate that knowledge into commercial success and job creation. “What’s the purpose of all this if we aren’t establishing businesses that can scale and stimulate economic growth?” he questions. “We make bold statements about advanced manufacturing, yet we aren’t taking the informed, daring risks necessary to bring those aspirations to fruition.”
A Vision for Tomorrow
Chris Kay aspires to prevent future entrepreneurs from enduring the frustrating decade-long ascent he faced. He aims to empower other start-ups to achieve in five years what took his company ten — by imparting his experiences from Europe, the US, and India, and championing systemic reforms in the UK.
His narrative is not solely about one start-up’s trials and triumphs. It highlights what is lacking in the UK’s innovation ecosystem: dependable pilot-scale manufacturing infrastructure, accessible funding at significant scale, and a national strategy that backs the entire journey from invention to industrial significance.
As Interface Polymers continues its endeavor to enhance the global plastic economy, its story stands as both a symbol of potential and a clarion call. If the UK genuinely aspires to be a leader in advanced manufacturing and green technology, it must invest not only in ideas but also in the frameworks that bring those ideas to life.