Speakers BiomimicryNL Boost Festival - 23 October 2020

Rik Breur - Finsulate

About this Talk (in English): 
Rik will talk about biomimicry related to antifouling in a broader sense, and address specifically the entrepreneurial journey of Finsulate into a commercial product. 

About Rik: 
Nature was the inspiration for Dutch inventor Rik Breur’s anti-fouling wrap. Like a sea urchin’s prickly surface, this environmentally friendly alternative to toxic paint prevents the growth of algae, barnacles and mussels on 
Breur started his professional carrier in 1996 at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) where he worked as a project leader for several (European) antifouling development projects. Based on his work, Breur obtained his PhD in 2001. In 2002, Breur left TNO and started a position as Senior Researcher at Corus RD&T (now: Tata Steel). While working part-time at Corus, Breur started his research company in part-time. In 2004, Breur left Corus to fully focus on the developments in his company. Initially pursuing innovations in both corrosion and antifouling applications, Breur started focusing the company in 2006 on the antifouling technology he filed patent for early 2006. After initial commercial focus on the fishfarming business, with parallel further development of the technology for shipping, Breur decided to shift the focus towards shipping in 2012. In the following years, the main focus was the use for offshore related vessels where successes were obtained in the Middle East and Singapore. Since 2017, Breur has shifted the focus to pleasure craft/yachting based on the market developments. The brand name Finsulate is now more and more established brand name and has resulted in a profitable company based on his “Sea Urchin” principle.