Background
M&I Materials Ltd is a small, family-owned UK manufacturer producing several niche products, including the Apiezon range of speciality vacuum greases and oils. These are currently manufactured using petroleum jelly, processed via vacuum distillation. With a view to sustainability and long-term resilience, the company seeks to identify alternative raw materials that align with increasing demand for greener solutions from customers and the market at large. Applications extend across sectors including cryogenics, food production, laboratory equipment, and advanced sealing solutions.
The challenge
The production of speciality vacuum greases and oils has traditionally relied on fossil-derived hydrocarbons due to their favourable molecular structure, thermal stability, and vacuum performance. However, increasing regulatory pressure, supply chain volatility, and strong market demand for sustainable alternatives are driving the need for non-fossil feedstocks. M&I Materials seeks scalable, sustainable, and technically viable raw materials that can replace fossil-derived inputs in its Apiezon product range. The aim is to identify alternative feedstocks capable of delivering the high-performance characteristics required for grease in vacuum applications, focusing on vapour pressure, low outgassing and low toxicity with current manufacturing processes, the performance of which will be validated through trials.
Currently, petroleum jelly is used as the feedstock for multiple products, typically made up of a mixture of long-chain hydrocarbons. New feedstocks will be evaluated through exploring their potential for producing the required fractions and meeting end-product specifications. New feedstocks may not require processing in the same manner and M&I is open to discussions for other options. Improving efficiency is a key opportunity, as the current process leaves a significant proportion of material unused.
Possible feedstock solutions may originate from, but not limited to:
- Fractions of a Fischer-Tropsch process between oils and waxes
- Material produced after converting recycled plastics into hydrocarbon oils/waxes
- Any source of a complex mixture of long-chain hydrocarbons found in a semi-solid state upon manufacturing
- Bio-based feedstocks or wastes to include oils
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Entrants to this competition must be:
- Established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs, or individual entrepreneurs
- Based in the UK or planning to establish a UK presence
The solution must/should:
- Minimum of 20 kg required for processing through current trial processes. M&I Materials are open to discussing smaller quantities as little as 1kg range and plan for scale-up in the near future
- Be available in sufficient volumes to support scale-up. Annual requirement (when scaled up and commercial): on the tonne scale of raw material (not an immediate requirement but we should discuss how the supply of raw material could be met)
- Be of similar constitution to petroleum jelly (semi-solid or grease/oil-compatible under ambient conditions with high carbon chain lengths)
- Proposed feedstock should allow us to produce vacuum greases specified below
- Possess low toxicity
- Material should be free from undesirable impurities (moisture, sulphur compounds)
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- Launch of the Competition: 10 November 2025
- Deadline for applications: 19 December 2025
- Selection and notification of finalists: 26 – 30 January 2026
- Date of Pitch Day: w/c 16th February 2026
- Pitch outcome communicated: w/c 2nd March 2026
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Successful applicants will:
- Be invited to pitch their solutions to M&I Materials Ltd
- Have the opportunity to collaborate on real-world trials using the company’s existing infrastructure
- Benefit from potential supply contracts if trials are successful
- Receive technical support during the trial phase, access to specialist knowledge and product benchmarks, and potential support from Innovate UK Business Connect (e.g., investment readiness, networking, funding)
Solutions that meet requirements could be adopted across other M&I product lines or by partners in related industries (e.g., semiconductors, cryogenics, clean energy labs)
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The application form for this challenge will require applicants to provide company information and answer 3 questions – Idea Summary, Technology Readiness and Intellectual Property – each with a limit of 300 words.
Optionally, up to 3 supporting documents can be attached to the application. We recommend that supporting documents are limited to those which are directly relevant to the application. Please note that applications with no supporting document will not receive any penalty in assessment. Supporting documents which the Assessment Panel deems to be superfluous may be disregarded. Examples of useful additional documents include product images or short specification sheets, slide decks detailing the solution and/or company background, or solution case studies.
We recommend that you complete the application form in Google Chrome as other browsers may have compatibility issues. The application form does not need to be completed in one session and can be saved for future edits. Please ensure that you toggle “Stage Complete” for each section before submission. Note that you will no longer be able to edit your application once you have clicked “Submit Idea” at the bottom of the Summary page.