Across industries like energy, transport, and chemicals, a significant problem persists. Most industrial components still rely on chemical coatings that are material-intensive, emission-heavy, and inefficient. According to global materials reports, chemical coating processes account for the majority of industrial surface treatments. They generate hazardous waste and consume significant amounts of critical materials such as platinum, palladium, and iridium. These materials are expensive, carbon-intensive to mine, and constrained by supply chain risks, making it harder to scale affordably.
A startup named Naco Technologies addresses these problems by replacing thick chemical coatings with ultra-thin, high-performance nanocoatings. Their process reduces critical material use by 10-40 times while maintaining or improving performance. This makes green technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, clean exhaust systems, and lightweight space components far more cost-effective, helping industries transition without compromising on durability or efficiency.
To better understand how their process works, we spoke to Aleksandrs Parfinovics, CEO of Naco Technologies. This article contains notable highlights from our entire conversation.
This interview is part of our exclusive Scouted By GreyB series. Here, we speak with the founders of innovative startups to understand how their solutions address critical industry challenges and help ensure compliance with industry and government regulations. (Know more about startups scouted by GreyB!)
“By reducing critical materials up to 40 times, we make green technologies affordable without sacrificing performance.”
Aleksandrs Parfinovics is the co-founder and CEO of Naco Technologies, a Latvian startup developing advanced nano-coatings for hydrogen and green energy systems. With a background in finance and management, including CIMA training and Big Four consulting experience, he brings strong financial expertise and strategic leadership to the company. Having previously built and successfully exited a nanotech venture to Schaeffler Group, Parfinovic now leads Naco Technologies in its mission to accelerate the hydrogen revolution through innovative material science.
Why nano-scale coatings could decide the future cost of green hydrogen and clean energy
NacoTek is a nano-coating company focused on reducing the use of critical materials across green and industrial technologies. The company develops high-speed physical nano coating processes that replace traditional chemical coatings. Its technology supports applications in hydrogen energy, clean transport, exhaust treatment, and even space missions, enabling lighter, more efficient, and more sustainable components at an industrial scale.
What makes your nano-coating technology fundamentally different from traditional coatings?
Alex: The coating industry today is dominated by chemical coatings, which use wet chemicals and produce emissions and waste. These coatings are thick, often measured in microns, and consume a lot of material. Our approach is physical nano-coating, where layers are applied at the nanoscale. That means the coating is thousands of times thinner, so you immediately save material and reduce environmental impact. What really sets us apart is speed. Nano coatings were slow and expensive, limiting adoption. We redesigned the equipment and process so that the same machine can coat up to ten times faster without increasing energy use. This brings the cost very close to chemical coatings, which is critical for large-scale adoption.
How exactly does your technology help reduce costs for green technologies?
Alex: In green technologies, the most significant cost driver is usually the critical material itself. Metals like platinum or iridium are costly. Our first step with customers is almost always to reduce the amount of these materials by 10 to 40 times through nanoscale layers. That alone changes the economics of many green solutions. When you combine material reduction with higher coating speed, the overall cost drops significantly. This allows green technologies like hydrogen systems or clean exhaust solutions to be produced at prices that make commercial sense, not just pilot projects.
You mentioned speed as a breakthrough. How did you manage to increase it so much?
Alex: We reworked how energy is used inside the coating system. Instead of simply increasing power, we optimized magnetic fields, material preparation, and cooling. This allows us to operate at higher power density without damaging the equipment or materials. Many competitors limit speed because they fear overheating or melting. We solved that at a system level, so we can apply coatings faster while keeping everything stable and reliable.
What challenges do customers face when switching from chemical to nano coatings?
Alex: The biggest challenge is hesitation. Switching coatings often means changing production lines, testing new processes, and making long-term decisions. For large companies, this testing phase alone can take one to three years. To reduce that barrier, we built our own production capacity. Customers can start by buying coated components directly from us instead of investing immediately in new equipment. Once volumes grow, we can install our systems at their facilities.
How flexible is your technology across materials and applications?
Alex: The system is very flexible. We coat metals, foils, plates, meshes, membranes, and even polymer materials. On top of that, we work with a wide range of coatings like oxides, nitrides, carbides, and carbonitrides. We currently have five proven products on the market, primarily for hydrogen applications, and over 20 additional solutions in development. This versatility allows us to support many industries without redesigning the core technology.
What are your expansion plans over the next few years?
Alex: Right now, we can produce around 80,000 square meters of coated material per year, and we are preparing a new line that will increase capacity tenfold. This allows us to supply customers globally from our facilities. The next step is installing our systems directly at customer sites in regions like Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Long term, we also see licensing as a way to spread the technology more quickly and reduce global environmental impact.
How does your technology fit into emerging trends like clean energy and emissions reduction?
Alex: Hydrogen is still essential, even if growth is slower than expected. At the same time, global energy demand is rising fast due to AI, data centers, and digital infrastructure. Not all of that energy will be green immediately. That is why we also focus on cleaning fossil fuel systems. By improving exhaust catalysts and reducing critical material use, we help make existing engines cleaner while the world transitions to greener energy sources.
Meet our Interviewer – Anusha Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at GreyB
Anusha Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst
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