Discover “Baro-Seal,” the innovative, compostable alternative to heat-sealing film that’s revolutionising flexible packaging!
MATcelerate ZERO is a collaborative initiative that brings together leading materials research universities and major global companies to turn advanced materials research into commercially viable climate solutions.
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Backed by the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s national institute for advanced materials, the programme focuses on developing and deploying new materials that support the energy transition and help achieve net-zero carbon goals. The initiative acts as a bridge between academia and industry, creating a pipeline of commercial opportunities that give companies a competitive advantage while building climate resilience. It is designed to help industry access and shape a rapidly growing market for climate solutions in Europe, valued at over $100 billion and expanding quickly since 2020. A wide range of multinational companies are already involved, spanning sectors such as energy, chemicals, manufacturing, and consumer goods.
The University of Warwick is a partner in MATcelerate ZERO and has recently seen its technology, Baro-Seal, recognised through the programme. Baro-Seal was selected as one of four national finalists, with Warwick receiving one of the final awards of £80,000. This recognition provides a strong foundation to accelerate commercial development, move towards spin-out formation, and attract interest from industry partners and investors.
Prof Remzi Becer, School of Chemistry, University of Warwick and co-founder, Compressive Materials said: “The technology is ready our priority now is commercialisation. We’re raising investment to scale and to work directly with customers and industry partners to bring products to market. ”
Dan Mackinnon, CEO, Compressive Materials said: “So, the MATcelerate ZERO funding, for us, means having the resources to actually scale up our materials from lab scale to a scale which is commercially relevant.
Dan added: “I would like to see our innovation making an impact on the world, reducing the impact of plastic waste and saving energy and helping us, as a society achieve net zero.”
Dr Francesco Colacino, Head of Operations & Commercialisation, Warwick Innovations said: “The opportunity to partner with a selected group of UK Universities world-leading in Materials Science, and the interest attracted from Industry and Investors is a testament of the quality of Materials research at Warwick. We are very proud of the recognition received by Prof Becer and Dr Mckinnon for their work and its commercialisation potential.”
Dr Ataulla Shegiwal, Business Development Associate, Warwick Innovations added: “This project has been a great example of close collaboration between Warwick Innovations and colleagues in Physical Sciences, ensuring that world-class research is matched with a clear commercial strategy. The MATcelerate ZERO award provides a powerful platform to engage industry, accelerate development, and move decisively towards spin-out and impact.”
More about the technology.
Baro-Seal is a novel pressure-activated sealing technology (“Compressive”) developed to combine key benefits of conventional heat-seal and cold-seal packaging solutions. Rather than relying on heat transfer or water-based drying steps, the Baro-Seal seal layer is activated by pressure, which induces “melting” of the seal layer and forms a solid seal after cooling. This approach is designed to enable fast sealing, with strong seal performance and good barrier properties, while avoiding the time and energy penalties often associated with thermal sealing.
The technology is solvent-free, supports bulk processing, and is intended to be applicable to liquid packaging formats. More broadly, the underlying materials approach may also be translatable to other domains for example flexible-packaging laminates/coatings, pressure-activated bonding films/adhesives, and areas such as battery-related materials subject to further development and validation.
This milestone provides a strong platform to accelerate commercial development, and we look forward to progressing the project towards spinout formation. We welcome interest from industry partners, investors, and individuals who may wish to support the next phase of development.
Warwick also encourages other academics and researchers with aligned technologies to engage with future cohorts of the programme.
MATcelerate ZERO 2026 – key dates
MATcelerate ZERO operates through multiple national cohorts each year, with defined application, evaluation, and award stages:
- ZERO 7: Applications 16 Feb–13 Mar 2026; Investment Committee 29 Apr 2026; Awards 5 May 2026; Project period 1 Jun–31 Dec 2026
- ZERO 8 (hosted by Warwick): Applications 4–29 May 2026; Investment Committee 15 Jul 2026; Awards 20 Jul 2026
- ZERO 9: Applications 1–30 Sep 2026; Investment Committee 18 Nov 2026; Awards 27 Nov 2026
Warwick also encourages academics and researchers with aligned technologies to engage with future cohorts of the programme.
If you are interested to learn more, please contact:
Dr Francesco Colacino – Francesco.Colacino@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Ataulla Shegiwal – Ataulla.Shegiwal@warwick.ac.uk
Learn more about about Warwick Innovations, the technology & knowledge transfer office for the University of Warwick below.
