The polysilazane molecule has been understood by chemists for decades. What nobody had cracked before Nanize was how to cure it fully, in under 60 seconds, at temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius, without catalysts.
That gap between what the chemistry could theoretically do and what the manufacturing process could practically achieve is where Nanize was built. Dr. Kingsley Iwu, CTO and founder, holds a PhD in Material Science with a specialty in nanotechnology. He spent years working on the specific curing problem before arriving at a process that his team has now validated across more than 20,000 test samples using FTIR (Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy). The spectroscopy confirms what the process claims: full crosslinking achieved, dense polymer network, hard cured surface. Not approximately. Measurably.
What Polysilazane Is and Why It Matters
Polysilazane is a silicon-nitrogen-based polymer. When it cures, it forms a ceramic-like surface layer that bonds covalently to the substrate underneath. This covalent bond is the key word. Unlike coatings that sit on top of a surface and can eventually peel, delaminate or flake, a covalently bonded polysilazane coating integrates with the material it’s applied to at a molecular level.
The resulting surface is hard, durable, hydrophobic, and extremely low friction. Lower friction, in fact, than Teflon without any of the fluorinated chemistry that makes Teflon legally and environmentally problematic.
Why the PFAS Question Changes Everything
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are present in thousands of industrial coatings currently on the market, including most non-stick coatings used in cookware, most protective coatings on electronics, and many automotive and architectural surface treatments. They deliver excellent performance. They also persist in the environment indefinitely and are linked to serious health consequences in humans and animals.
Regulators in the EU and US have been tightening PFAS restrictions for several years. By 2026, phase-out deadlines are no longer hypothetical future concerns for manufacturers; they are near-term operational problems. Companies that sell into regulated markets need a replacement that works as well as what they are replacing. Most alternatives tested so far have required trade-offs in performance, process speed, or manufacturing compatibility.
Nanize has not found those trade-offs to be necessary. The polysilazane formulation works. The curing process works at scale. The performance data is verified.
The Team Behind the Technology
Nanize is based in Narvik, Norway. The company was co-founded by Dr. Iwu alongside Havard Lillebo, a serial entrepreneur who has raised $140 million across his companies. The executive team includes CEO David Hogg, who spent 30 years in solar energy and served as COO of Suntech when it employed 22,000 people, and Chief Commercial Officer Jerry Stokes, who built a $2 billion revenue portfolio at Suntech. These are not first-time founders learning the commercialisation process. They have done large-scale industrial manufacturing before.
The combination of deep chemistry expertise and experienced commercial leadership is specific. It produces a company that understands both what the molecule does and what a production line actually requires.
Sustainability Beyond Compliance
The Nanize coating process integrates into existing manufacturing lines using standard application methods: roll-to-roll, slot-die, or spray. No specialist equipment is required. The coating is applied, and curing completes in under 60 seconds at below 100 degrees. On some substrates, effective curing occurs below 70 degrees. No catalyst is added to initiate or accelerate the process.
The result is a production-ready coating that is PFAS-free, hard, durable, low-friction, and validated by spectroscopy. The Nanize IP portfolio includes awarded patents and further patents under review covering both the formulations and the curing process.
The market for functional surface coatings is currently valued at $544 billion globally and is projected to reach $912 billion by 2034. The majority of that market relies on PFAS-containing formulations that will need to be replaced. Nanize is positioned to supply that replacement.
Learn more at nanize.com and explore the technology at https://nanize.com/our-technology-pfas-free-rapid-curing-polysilazane-coatings-nanize/