Paint The Future

Collaborative innovation is transforming the paints and coatings industry. Join our ecosystem of innovators:
Startups
Suppliers
Countdown visual

Global startup challenge 2021

The Paint the Future global startup challenge has invited 11 selected finalists to take part in a three-day bootcamp taking place in Amsterdam March 22-24. The startups and AkzoNobel experts will meet face-to-face to explore potential collaborations together.

We are one big

GLOBAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

No great thing was ever created alone. Make a splash in the paints and coatings industry. Collaborate with bright minds to accelerate and commercialize your solutions.
The community says
"Participating in the Paint the Future Accelerator was an incredible experience for our startup. The team put together a world class program"
Tim Angus AOMS Executive Advisor
"So many great ideas were brought forward through Paint the Future. There is a true drive to innovate"
Mayke Geradts ING
"The companies that came together at the Paint the Future Accelerator presented the most amazing ideas and created an enormous impact. Truly inspiring"
Danny Lucas Lucas UK Group

INNOVATE WITH US

Countdown visual

Startups

Your gateway into the paints and coatings industry. Explore our current programs and start accelerating your solutions!
Countdown visual

Suppliers

Our raw material suppliers are also our strong innovation partners. Check out our collaboration opportunities.
Countdown visual

Academia

Connect and collaborate with the world’s brightest minds, with a direct line to top leaders and industry experts.

Coming soon

Paint the Future is the ecosystem​ for accelerating new innovations in paints and coatings.

Through our platform and programs, innovators get access to resources to help commercialize their solutions. It’s all about connecting what we know with what we don’t know yet.

News

Check out these great examples of what happens when bright minds join forces to develop revolutionary ideas.

245 submissions from around the world

September 15, 2021
The initial phase of our Paint the Future global startup challenge saw an incredible 245 innovative solutions from 62 different countries.

Second round of supplier programm

September 10, 2021
New innovation horizons are being explored through four exciting partnerships following the second round of the Paint the Future supplier program, continuing AkzoNobel’s collaborative innovation story.

Autonomous painting drone

Apellix X AkzoNobel
Combining drones and painting? Tell us more! Apellix won a partnership agreement from AkzoNobel during the 2019 Paint the Future global startup challenge. Find out more about our collaboration on a custom-built spray painting drone.

AkzoNobel innovations

Our innovations go beyond expectation, beyond imagination and beyond generations. How? Discover our inspiring stories here.

Beyond corrosion​ Water-based paint is the ultimate rust-buster

Need to fix up your old, rusty fence but don’t know where to start? Hammerite Ultima makes it easy. Use it on any metal surface – even rusted ones – without a primer. The genius of the more sustainable water-based formulation is that it dries fast to of...

Beyond spotless Dulux EasyCare+ resists stains and scuffs​

Keeping your walls pristine is a battle – but the calvary's here in the form of Dulux EasyCare+. Using heroic Scuff Resist technology, the paint forms a durable matt coating that prevents battle scars from any plastic, rubber or wood adversaries. Live, play...

Beyond hygienic Enhanced powder coatings with antimicrobial propertie...

BioCote® technology does not protect users or others against disease causing bacteria, germs, viruses or other harmful organisms. This technology is not a substitute for good hygiene and/or cleaning practices.

Beyond eyesight Digital quality checks for textured powder coatings

Visual inspection used to be the only way you could quality check a textured powder coating surface. Pioneering technology takes us a major step forward. With the help of our expertise, BYK-Gardner has added digital measurement of texture to the spectro2profi...

Beyond gameplay A story about science, sparkle and surfaces

It’s extremely hard to digitally capture metallic and pearl sparkle effects the way they appear in real life. It used to require a little imagination. So we developed interactive 3D color visualization tools for our customers – by updating technology used...

Beyond the rainbow Cloud-based app retrieves millions of colors

There are way more than seven colors in the rainbow! Our MIXITᵀᴹ app contains more than two million formulas for automotive, aerospace and yacht colors. It’s easy, accessible and helps both painters and managers do their work. We call it “the future o...

Why AkzoNobel

Leading the transformation of the paints and coatings industry.
Join us
€1.25
billion spend R&D (5 year)
3.000
scientists employed
+3.100
patents
70
laboratories globally
+200
years
+‎€9
billion revenue
+34
thousand employees
150+
active countries

Access

Connect and collaborate with the world’s brightest minds, top leaders and industry experts

Tailored programs

Time-pressured acceleration will help you commercialize and grow your solution

Scale

Tap into the evolving paints and coatings industry to grow your business in exciting new ways

MEET US

MEET US
MEET US
"With our Paint the Future initiative we have established ourselves as the go-to partner for collaborative innovation. The expanding networks will be pivotal as we take on the challenge of cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030"

David Williams

Chief Innovation Officer at AkzoNobel
“Achieving our ambitious sustainability targets requires the whole ecosystem to work together to innovate and find new ways of doing things”

Wijnand Bruinsma

Director of Sustainability at AkzoNobel
“It's about pushing boundaries and finding inventive ways to collectively make a positive contribution to an ever-changing world.”

Roger Jakeman

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at AkzoNobel
"Fantastic to see what we can do when we bring different people together. Looking forward to broadening our ecosystem with other groups of great minds and see how this journey continues to stir up the industry"

Monique de Graaf

Paint the Future project lead at AkzoNobel
"Connecting people, technology and creativity are the key ingredients for sustainable innovation and something that I have been doing for different industries. Paint the Future oozes this vision where the goal is to accelerate innovative solutions for our industry."

Mignon d'Arnaud

Paint the Future program manager at AkzoNobel