Since childhood, Dr. Khalid Zahouily, founder and CEO of Photon & Polymers (PnP), an independent laboratory that has carried out over 185 successful projects, has been enchanted by chemistry, potions, and mixtures. When he was merely ten years old, he held scavenger hunts every Friday in Casablanca, collecting expired medicines with his friends, carrying out small experiments, and writing the observations down in his notebook.

Dr. Zahouily, a curious kid with dreams of making magic potions, realised his childhood ambition when he obtained a doctorate in photochemistry and photopolymers at the University of Haute-Alsace (UHA) and received the Order of Merit from Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Lehn. Dr. Zahouily then took his passion for science and worked at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) for over a decade, operating with industry specialist Christian Decker and specialising in photopolymers.

In 2001, when the French government enacted a law allowing researchers to set up their own companies and use CNRS equipment, Dr. Zahouily seized the opportunity to establish PnP.

“I was definitely a chemist, but I didn’t know about business plans or marketing. Fortunately, I was guided by great specialists,” says Dr. Zahouily The decision to start his entrepreneurial journey with PnP proved to be the right call as the company has evolved into a global leader in photopolymer materials, and Dr. Zahouily–scientist turned entrepreneur–leads his company to new heights of innovation.

A spin-off of CNRS and UHA, PnP helps multinational companies and industry giants solve, optimise, and develop photopolymer materials per their unique specifications.

Seven years ago, Dr. Zahouily reoriented the operational model to cater to businesses’ emerging additive manufacturing (3D printing) needs and started offering stereolithography and UV drop-jet solutions. His expertise in UV curing–a green and ultra-fast technology to transform liquid resin into insoluble polymeric material within a fraction of a second–has enabled PnP to help businesses immensely benefit from the technology.

Today, PnP develops innovative photopolymer solutions for various industries–hospitality, fashion, automotive, electronics, aeronautics, construction, and more–and is a trusted partner in developing and optimising photopolymer materials.

PnP is acknowledged in the industry for its expertise in light-curing inks, anti-graffiti and anti-corrosion coating, advanced 3D printing technologies, nanocomposites, adhesives, and more. Its in-house laboratory primarily develops high-quality photopolymer coating for various products. Using its UV technology, PnP develops functional coatings and inkjet inks that promote innovation in industrial and consumer products.

Holistic Services for Photopolymer Formulations

During the research and development of coating, glue, ink, inkjet, or advanced materials for 3D printing, PnP’s creativity and sense of innovation help its clients swiftly identify the right technologies for their use cases by conducting preliminary investigations. It offers detailed reports of associated solutions, regulatory requirements, and functional specifications, giving them informed opinions on their challenges.

For businesses whose current formulations don’t fulfil their specifications, PnP takes the onus of evaluating and optimising their photopolymer material while considering potential market expectations and consumer requirements.

“With our expertise capitalised on many successful developments for 25 years, we are your privileged partner in formulating befitting solutions,” states Dr. Zahouily.

To help organisations better understand photopolymers, the benefits of different materials, and their unique use cases, PnP trains its clients on all issues associated with photopolymer materials. These training sessions help clients’ teams–chemical material technicians, engineers, and R&D managers–innovate and continuously improve existing operations. Clients can participate in various comprehensive workshops and understand the available photopolymerisation technologies.

To support the development of its patrons’ innovative projects, PnP has acquired new in-situ analysis techniques, RTFTIR, Profilo3D, and thermomechanical characterisation. It has also heavily invested in numerous surface and interface characterisation equipment to improve the control of surface properties and the interaction of photopolymers on the nanometric scale.

Our approach is different while solving problems or proposing innovative solutions to our customers. We take paths little known by the neophytes in photochemistry

PnP’s collaboration with various laboratories and universities gives it an upper hand and privileged access to numerous sophisticated optical techniques, like XPS, electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and X-ray diffraction. It has also acquired the latest equipment for nano-grinding and characterisation of nanocomposite materials. PnP is proficient in a wide spectrum of techniques for characterising and analysing photopolymer materials, highlighting why it is regarded as one of the leading companies in the 3D printing industry.

A Trusted Partner for Potential Projects

Seeking expert advice and benefiting from their industry know-how is often the lynchpin to a project’s success. PnP provides an objective expert opinion to assess the feasibility and materialise the industrial valuation of its client’s projects. Having carried out more than 195 projects, the company can perform an audit of the project or idea according to the PnP scientific analysis grid and suggest the most appropriate development path. PnP’s long-standing experience enables customers to gain a significant competitive advantage and save time and capital.

PnP also helps businesses design and define their objectives, draft specifications, validate technical and economic feasibility, and identify the required resources.

“Our approach is different while solving problems or proposing innovative solutions to our customers. We take paths little known by the neophytes in photochemistry,” says Dr. Zahouily.

To paint an evocative picture of its approach, Dr. Zahouily cites PnP’s partnership with Airbus Industries (AIR: EPA). PnP custom-developed a unique biphasic oil/oil photopolymerisable emulsion for Airbus that prevents ice from sticking to aeroplane wings. It also developed hybrid systems (mixtures of cationic and radical photopolymers) of the required hardness and flexibility.

PnP also offered its services to Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens or RATP group for developing anti-graffiti varnishes.

In the bioprinting domain, PnP currently has a development project with a Swiss biological company where it brings deep knowledge of biophotopolymer materials and irradiation processes that are not aggressive to cells. PnP is also designing the minimum viable product for orthodontic aligners, developed using a unique photopolymer formulation to directly print a transparent aligner in a single operation.

PnP has helped numerous businesses optimise properties, including shrinkage, impact resistance, and curing, and improve the photochemical reactivity of the photopolymer resin, avoiding the migration of residual uncured monomers. Its expertise in the UV Dropjet field and piezo DoD print heads has helped its 3D polymer jet customers develop unique photopolymer formulations. This technique generates promising results as it permits the usage of many jetable polymer materials.

Although a small company, PnP has numerous industry giants as its clientele, including Rolex, Gucci, Lafarge, Louis Vuitton, Saint-Gobain (SGO: EPA), Hermès (RMS: EPA), and more. It was also awarded the innovative company TalentiSIM honour in 2021 by the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse (SIM).

To ensure the total confidentiality of customers, PnP houses a team of leading security experts who guarantee accountability, transparency, and confidentiality for each R&D project. It uses biometric recognition and hierarchical access control to ensure the effective traceability of consultation.

These capabilities enable PnP to deliver inventive photopolymers through its team of experts from different international institutions and universities, who pool their creative potential and bring the best of their respective fields to the table. Two years ago, PnP’s management team decided to explore the integration of artificial intelligence to accelerate photopolymer development.

“We have decided to orient our business model towards the formulation and commercialisation of photopolymer materials for 3D and 4D additive manufacturing,” states Dr. Zahouily.

PnP also works with clients in the medical sector, particularly on the 3D and 4D printing of biological organs using a mixture of bio-photopolymers and living cells.
Dr. Zahouily is a founding member of the association Meet France-Maroc (MFM) to support entrepreneurship, which brings together Franco-Moroccan entrepreneurs and scientists in Alsace. Within this association, he is president of the Scientific Research & Valorization group at MFM, which encourages development and innovation in various scientific fields, and promotes economic growth and the creation of new businesses. It also aspires to work with Franco-Moroccan researchers on global water and energy issues to help research communities generate employment opportunities for all.

PnP will bear the torch of innovation and enable businesses to optimise their applications as photopolymers make their way into the mainstream 3D printing industry.