Support throughout the journey towards a PFAS-free, circular frying pan

It all began in 2015 with a technology that makes it possible to cook food directly in the oven, on a baking tray coated with a non-stick material. This became popular in professional cooking. Mikael Wallborg is the CEO of Ipinium and has a background in the restaurant industry.

"Our trays originally had a coating containing PFAS, but we soon realised that most ovens, such as those in restaurant and school kitchens, reach temperatures of nearly 300 degrees. And in those conditions, it’s an unsuitable material because the coating breaks down and can release harmful substances", he says.

PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, are found in items such as clothing, make-up and kitchen products. They do not break down in the environment and accumulate in both the environment and the human body, which is harmful from both an environmental and a health perspective. A broad EU ban on the entire PFAS group – over 10,000 substances – is currently being prepared and is expected to be the most comprehensive chemical regulation in the EU’s history.

Can non-stick coatings be completely free of PFAS?

After exploring other options, Ipinium eventually switched to a ceramic coating, which also left much to be desired in terms of both durability and potentially harmful substances. It was then that the idea of developing a new, water-based non-stick coating was conceived. A coating that works just as well as those containing PFAS, but which is both non-toxic and does not start to wear off after a few years. Was this feasible?

"In 2021, together with materials experts at RISE and Chalmers Industriteknik, we began investigating the ceramic coatings available on the market and realised that they contain many unnecessary components. One example is the colour – why do frying pans have to be black if it means that pigments containing substances that are undesirable in the kitchen need to be added?" says Mikael Wallborg. 

By focusing on customers’ actual needs and eliminating unnecessary components, they gradually began to move closer to a finished product. 

"For us, the focus has always been on our specifications: the frying pans must have a long lifespan, withstand high temperatures, and be sustainably produced from safe materials." 

RISE supports you from concept to finished product

Erik Adolfsson is a researcher at RISE and has been involved in the project from the outset, evaluating countless combinations of different chemicals in order to find the optimal formulation.

“Finding a formulation with exactly the right properties has been the main challenge in this project. We’ve made progress step by step; we’ve encountered quite a few problems along the way, but now we have a formulation that’s very, very good. I look forward to seeing it used on a larger scale in professional kitchens in the future,” says Erik Adolfsson.

A circular system for frying pans and baking trays

In addition to its PFAS-free coating, Ipinium has been an early adopter of a circular approach to its products. For over 11 years, the company has been circulating frying pans and baking trays. Primarily for commercial kitchens, but in recent years an increasing number of private customers have joined in. Instead of throwing away your Ipinium frying pan when the non-stick coating wears out, the coating is replaced and the pan is as good as new. You can repeat this process around eight times before the product needs to be discarded. 

“It’s great to see that more and more people are getting the idea behind circularity. These days, we’re selling almost more circular products than new ones,” says Mikael Wallborg, CEO of Ipinium.