Antonio Onteniente, co-founder and CEO of Advanced Nanotechnologies S. L. is a company dedicated to providing high quality nanometer thickness coatings aimed at satisfying both the consumer and business markets. It also supports R&D projects with nanotechnology services by developing specific processes and equipment for a range of applications, such as anti-fog, low-friction and anti-scratch solutions.

You founded AN in 2012. Throughout these years you have developed solutions based on nanotechnology that you have adapted to your customers. Which ones would you highlight for their innovative component or future projection?

One of the surface solutions that has been worked on the most has been the to eliminate the entanglement of transparent surfaces with the aim of providing perfect transmittance through glass or plastics used in the world of optics such as polycarbonate or methacrylate.

During the pandemic, the lenses of the glasses got very dirty with the masks and our solution gave very satisfactory results in countries like Germany. It is a pity that the distributors we have have not yet introduced the solution in our country.

Which results are you most proud of?

Our team has been proud when our prototypes have been successfully tested in the laboratories of well-known companies that are very demanding in terms of product quality and reliability. Test results have shown that we have excellent technology on our hands. This has happened to us with multinationals from various sectors, such as automotive, optics, chemicals or sports equipment.

You have four patents: two related to anti-fog, one to wear resistance and one to surface heater solutions. What was the process like to get there?

It is not easy to get a patent, because all over the world there are people who are doing things that can be assembled and that are also patented or published. We, every time in our R&D process we saw that we had something really new, we first analyzed whether there could be something similar already patented and then we contacted researchers from the University of Barcelona to see how we could shape the patent application document. And here are the results: at the moment we have not four but five patents.

What is the fifth patent?

< p>It is the invention of an anti-fog consumable material.

AN won the open innovation program of Hewlett-Packard (HP), competing with the main international companies. What did this recognition entail?

Throughout these ten years we have been recognized on several occasions. HP is a global innovation leader and having their recognition gave us a lot of motivation to keep fighting. In 2019, we were also awarded, by the CIAC cluster, the prize for the company with the best innovation strategy. In this case we were competing with large groups in the automotive sector. It was very exciting.

Companies like HP in the printing industry, Magna Mirrors in the automotive, FEDE in jewelry and Schneider in the industry ophthalmology are interested in anti-scratch and/or anti-fog solutions. It has been one of your main focusesof interest?

We entered the industry through the ophthalmic sector. A lens manufacturing giant like Roden Stock chose our anti-fog technology for their product. This fact made us focus a lot on the operations level so that the quality of the product and the logistics were impeccable. It was leaving the laboratory and already operating with a real and demanding market.

You also support R&D projects by developing processes and equipment. What projects could you tell us about?

Due to confidentiality issues, I cannot say much to answer this question. Yes, I can say that we have done custom development projects with companies in various sectors, mainly automotive.

In all these years the use of nanotechnology has grown and become very popular. In what way would you say that progress has been made in this field?

I think that progress has been made in two respects: on the one hand, in trying industrialize solutions based on nanotechnology, so that costs can be reduced by increasing productivity. On the other hand, we are continuously working on business models that allow the nanotechnology producer to increase profitability. This is being achieved by basing business models more on a service than on selling a product.

Advanced nanotechnology solutions can improve the performance of the materials and extend their useful life. Is the future of materials linked to nanotechnologies?

Nanostructured materials undoubtedly improve existing materials by acting as additives if mixed in volume or improve the surface properties. There are immense possibilities in the near future with nanotechnology.

Is nanotechnology very present in Catalan industry or is there still a long way to go?< /strong>

In my opinion, there is little nanotechnology industry in Catalonia. It is still being developed to a large extent by our universities and technological centers. As I said before, better business models still need to be found in order for investors to bet more on incorporating the nano concept into the industry.

As members of the MAV Cluster, what would you say the Cluster brings to Catalan companies?

Our company has been in the MAV Cluster since the beginning. The management has always been excellent, from my point of view for having had very good cluster managers, but also for the board of directors, who are always waiting to ensure that the standard of demand does not decline.

Within this cluster you have many options to collaborate with companies on joint development issues or even go to market together in specific cases. In addition, for some time now, through the Cluster you have access to grants for R+D+I projects in a way that I consider agile and portable from the point of view of the paperwork for a small company like the ours with the right resources.

I would recommend this cluster to any materials company that wants to have new business opportunities, that wants to be up to date on topics related to advanced materials and who wants to have access to new sources of funding for R+D+I projects.