SALD nominated for Technology Fast 50

 

SALD BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) has been nominated for the Technology Fast 50 Award 2023 in the 'Rising Star' category. The award is presented annually by the renowned consultancy firm Deloitte to honour the 50 most promising technology companies. The focus is on the fastest growing companies in the technology sector.

"We are delighted that SALD has been included in this year's vote for the first time," says SALD CEO Frank Verhage. He sees this as a "strong indicator that Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition is on its way to revolutionising the industry in many areas". SALD (the company name stands for Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition) has developed a globally unique, patented process for applying coatings on an industrial scale that are as thin as a single atom. Frank Verhage says: "Our atomic coatings will turn entire industries upside down, including the production of battery cells for cars and smart devices, the textile and fashion industries and the solar energy sector."

SALD describes the stage of development that Deloitte predicts will lead to company growth as "from lab to fab", i.e. the step from the lab to industrial mass production. A typical example of this is roll-to-roll production systems, in which a flexible starting material is unrolled, a structure is printed or imprinted and the material is then rolled up again. In combination with SALD technology, it is possible to print nano-thin coatings with specific properties and functions onto the roll. R2R mass printing production is used for flexible electronic components, packaging films, textiles, solar and battery coatings, among other things.

Deloitte writes about the Technology Fast 50 Award: "The award recognises and supports young companies with high growth potential that have been in business for less than four years." The technology companies are selected by a panel of independent experts based on future potential, degree of innovation and scalability. "The winners are the drivers of future growth," says Deloitte.

Although SALD technology could be used in practically all production sectors, the Eindhoven technology company initially wants to focus primarily on efficient solar cells, long-lasting batteries and environmentally friendly packaging.

Frank Verhage explains: "Making better use of solar energy, improving battery technology and sustainable packaging are all key issues for the future of humanity." He gives an example: "If we succeed in converting the sun's radiant power into electricity much more efficiently than today and storing it in batteries with many times the current capacity, our current energy problems would be solved."

Well-known industrial companies around the world are currently working on integrating SALD technology into their production processes. This process is supported by several EU projects in which SALD is involved. SALD is also involved in development projects of the Dutch government technology fund "NXTgen Groeifonds".

Caption: SALD has been nominated for Technology Fast 50 by Deloitte (photo: SALD)