Nfinite, an advanced materials company based in Waterloo, Ontario, has secured advisory services and funding of up to CAD 3,874,516 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to scale its paper-based packaging technology for commercial use in the flexible packaging industry.

Nfinite will use the funding to advance its proprietary atmospheric pressure spatial atomic layer deposition (AP-SALD) process. The open-air, roll-to-roll coating technology enables the deposition of ultra-thin, highly conformal barrier coatings on paper substrates. Through this process, the company has demonstrated enhanced barrier performance on paper, positioning it as a potential alternative to conventional plastic-based flexible packaging materials.

Commenting on the development, Miguel Galvez, CEO at Nfinite, said, “Using our proprietary AP-SALD system, Nfinite has demonstrated novel barrier performance on paper. A paper solution that has the same shelf-life barrier performance as metallized plastic has the potential to eliminate plastic from the flexible packaging industry.”

As part of the NRC IRAP-supported initiative, Nfinite will collaborate with three commercial partners: Amcor, PepsiCo, and Unilever. These collaborations are focused on developing compostable and recyclable packaging solutions aligned with evolving sustainability goals across the packaging value chain.

The NRC IRAP funding spans a three-year period and will support the deployment of Nfinite’s pilot production plant in Waterloo. It will also assist in the completion of the company’s first industrial-scale production facility, which is expected to produce tens of millions of square meters of high-barrier paper annually.

The funding supports Nfinite’s efforts to commercialize paper-based alternatives within the flexible packaging market, where demand for sustainable material solutions continues to grow.