Submitted by RadTech
RadTech, Chevy Chase, Maryland, is proud to recognize leaders driving innovation in automotive manufacturing, next-generation electronics, high-viscosity 3D printing and biomedical engineering, sustainability and degradability through UV and EB technologies. These leaders were honored for pioneering applications that enhance sustainability, precision and performance at RadTech 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.
2025 Automotive Innovation Award Winners
Ford Motor Company
RadTech recognizes Ford Motor Company for its cutting-edge research into the development of overspray-free revolutionary paint applicator technology, enabled by UV. This award follows the granting to Ford of a US Patent, marking a major leap forward in sustainable, high-efficiency vehicle finishing. Ford’s patented system is a novel approach that combines ultrasonic atomization with advanced UV-curable coatings. Ford’s use of UV-curable coatings, already well established in applications like polycarbonate headlamps, now is being extended to more complex vehicle surfaces. UV-curing precision painting promises to offer game-changing results, including 80% reduction in labor from masking processes; 35% material savings through targeted application; 40% overall cost efficiency in specialty finishes; and 3X improvement in design flexibility. Ford also is testing UV-curable inks for detailed graphic applications, logos and decorative elements for their ability to maintain adhesion, endure enamel thermal bake cycles and integrate beneath automotive clearcoats. While traditional full-body paint lines remain in place, Ford’s precision painting model explores opportunities to transform the production of specialty finishes, showing how UV technology can be a powerful enabler of sustainability, efficiency and creative expression in modern automotive manufacturing.
Toyota Industries Corporation
Toyota Industries Corporation has developed the world’s first single-layer, UV-curable hard coating for plastic glazing in vehicles – a major step forward in automotive materials technology. This new coating replaces the traditional three-layer system used on windshields and windows, dramatically simplifying the process while meeting international scratch and durability standards, cutting carbon emissions by 80% and costs by 40%, helping to develop lighter, more efficient vehicles. Already in use on the Lexus hydrogen-powered off-road vehicle, the coating is being tested in real-world conditions. “This innovation supports the auto industry’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, proving that sustainability and performance can go hand in hand.”
2025 RadLaunch Award Winners
Pixelligent Materials
Pixelligent develops cutting-edge materials that make the next generation of electronics and optical devices clearer, brighter and more efficient, used in everything from high-tech displays and lighting to extended reality (XR) devices and advanced sensors. These materials work by improving how light travels through and interacts with different surfaces. Whether it’s a screen, lens or sensor, the technology helps make devices more energy-efficient, more durable and visually appealing. With UV as an enabling technology, Pixelligent has developed a manufacturing breakthrough that provides precise control over tiny nanocrystals materials at the heart of their process, using fast modern manufacturing techniques, including nanoimprint lithography and inkjet printing.
Maddiy Segal, Duke University
Duke University Ph.D. candidate Maddiy Segal has developed a groundbreaking solvent-free resin for UV-based 3D printing, paving the way for biodegradable medical implants and other next-generation biomedical devices. Using digital light processing (DLP) – a type of 3D printing that solidifies liquid resin using UV light – Segal created a material that eliminates the need for harmful solvents while delivering stronger, more accurate parts. Traditional DLP resins often shrink and warp as solvents evaporate. Segal’s innovation solves that challenge while remaining safe for use in the body. Her work could help reduce the need for repeat surgeries to remove temporary implants and one day may be used in bone adhesives, soft robotics and more. The research, conducted in the lab of Professor Matthew Becker, highlights how UV-curable materials are enabling more sustainable and patient-friendly medical technologies.
Supernova
Supernova’s Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) advances photopolymer additive manufacturing by enabling the use of ultra-high-viscosity resins – up to 5,000,000 cP at room temperature – far beyond the limits of conventional stereolithography. VLM uses controlled layer deposition and precise UV patterning to cure resin systems with over 80% oligomer content, producing parts with mechanical properties comparable to injection-molded engineering plastics. VLM supports highly filled, oligomer-rich formulations, including ceramics and fibers, without sacrificing printability or part quality. The resulting parts offer improved toughness, chemical resistance and reduced water uptake and emissions, making them well suited for demanding industrial applications. The platform is compatible with a wide range of chemistries, from acrylates and methacrylates to polyurethanes, thiols and silicones. By removing the traditional viscosity ceiling, VLM positions UV-curable additive manufacturing as a viable alternative to thermoplastics and thermosets for high-performance applications. This capability has the potential to reshape manufacturing across aerospace, automotive and industrial tooling sectors, pushing UV-based 3D printing into markets once considered out of reach.
2025 Sustainability Award Winners
Whitehall Technical Services Ltd’s focus on sustainable manufacturing includes the use of solar-powered, waterless UV LED-curing to coat and cure modular housing panels. Made from fast-growing plantation pine, each panel serves as a long-term carbon sink. The fully automated process reduces energy use, eliminates VOCs and enhances worker safety, delivering high-performance protection with minimal environmental impact.
PPG is developing new opportunities for UV/EB with its DuraNEXT™ coil coating line. With 100% solids formulations and electric-powered curing, PPG has demonstrated up to 70% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional systems, supported by life cycle analysis. These innovations represent a major step forward in sustainable metal finishing.
ProAmpac is advancing flexible packaging with its PRO-EVO® Recyclable SOS Bags, which use UV-curable inks and HD flexographic printing. These bags reduce VOC emissions, enhance air quality, and are designed for curbside recyclability, delivering a sustainable alternative for pet food and other consumer goods packaging.
Nedap’s ultra-efficient UV lamp drivers reportedly achieve up to 96.5% energy efficiency, well above industry norms. With a power factor of 0.99 and minimal harmonic distortion, Nedap systems reduce energy loss and infrastructure strain. The company is aligned with the Science-Based Targets initiative, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2030.
2025 UV+EB Degradability Challenge Winners
Congratulations to Dr. Chen Wang, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah, and Dr. Travis W. Walker, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on their achievements.
Today, many commercially available packaging materials, especially for food, use wax and other coatings that hinder degradability. Dr. Wang’s innovative photocurable polymer material, however, is fully home-compostable and soil-degradable. Replacing single-use wrappers with this material could significantly impact the fight against global pollution.
Dr. Walker has developed novel photopolymerizable anhydride oligomers that offer enhanced dimensional and chemical stability, tunable mechanical properties and controlled degradability in the presence of water. Remarkably, these materials are among the first of their kind to exist as liquids at room temperature, opening new possibilities for manufacturing and sustainability.
In addition to the two challenge winners, the Degradable Materials Task Force recognized Mr. Dan Halkyard, director of Sustainable Product Development at S-One Labels and Packaging, and Mr. Ahmed Bashir, Digital Ink Chemist at INX International Inks, Co., for their innovative contributions to sustainable material solutions.
For more information, visit www.radtech.org.
