Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Uppsala, Sweden, September 20, 2017 — BASF Venture Capital GmbH is leading an investment round in the Swedish high-tech company Applied Nano Surfaces Sweden AB (ANS), headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden. ANS offers unique surface treatment technologies to reduce friction and wear in industrial and automotive applications. The investment is co-led by the existing investor Fouriertransform AB.
“ANS has advanced its proprietary surface treatment technologies to meet the market demand for low-cost, high-performance friction and wear reduction technologies,” said Markus Solibieda, Managing Director at BASF Venture Capital. “This is confirmed by the impressive list of applications under development with key customers. We are confident that ANS’s management will translate this into significant value for its shareholders.”
ANS will use the investment proceeds to put its ongoing customer projects into high-volume series production, initially in automotive applications such as valve train components, cylinder liners and connecting rods. In addition, the funds will be used to further expand business development activities in other industrial application areas as well, such as hydraulic motors, rock drills, pumps, chains, gears and compressors, where friction and wear are highly relevant topics.
“This financing through BASF Venture Capital allows us to mature our customer projects to high-volume serial production applications,” said Christian Kolar, CEO and Co-founder of ANS. “The demand for solutions to improve energy efficiency is strong not only in the automotive sector, but increasingly also in industrial applications. Once we have established production for key applications, we will be able to expand and fully exploit the great potential with our highly scalable processes.”
“ANS has developed friction reduction technologies with a very favorable cost-performance profile,” said Michael Nettersheim, Investment Manager at BASF Venture Capital. “Ease of implementation should support broad market adoption. Currently, late-stage tests at well-known OEMs from the automotive industry are underway. We expect that the exciting results from prior tests will be validated.”
About BASF Venture Capital
BASF Venture Capital GmbH was established in 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the aim of exploring new growth potentials based on investments in startup companies and funds. More information is available at: www.basf-vc.com.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at: www.basf.com.
About Applied Nano Surfaces Sweden AB
Applied Nano Surfaces AB (ANS) offers innovative solutions for friction and wear reduction. The technologies have a favorable cost-performance profile and are easily implemented in existing production lines. ANS has three core offerings: ANS Triboconditioning®, ANS Tricolit® and ANS TriboNite®. ANS Triboconditioning® is a mechanochemical surface treatment method that is used to reduce friction losses for components made of steel and cast iron. ANS Tricolit® is a series of low friction coatings applicable to components of various materials and shapes. ANS TriboNite® is an advanced heat treatment and coating process that gives the component a hard and durable surface with low friction capabilities. ANS has more than 50 development projects with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers from the automotive industry as well as over 20 customer projects in various industrial applications where friction reduction is a major topic. More information is available at: www.appliednanosurfaces.com
Media contact:
BASF
Inga Franke
+49 173 3099242
inga.a.franke@basf.com
Catrin Wingqvist Hood
+46 31639824
catrin.hood@basf.com
