Ikea has purchased a 12.5 per cent stake in Nilo, a deep-tech business that has created and patented a plastic waste-derived adhesive for use in the manufacturing of wood-based boards.

As part of this arrangement, Andrew McIntosh, innovation partnership leader at Ikea Innovation Ventures, has joined Nilo’s board of directors. 

Ikea says its investment in Nilo demonstrates the company’s dedication to collaborating with innovative businesses that can support and accelerate the Ikea materials innovation agenda.

“The performance and physical qualities show promise and we want to support Nilo and help develop the adhesive with a mutual ambition to get it into scaled trials,” said McIntosh. 

“From our position as a shareholder, we can support the path forward and look forward to working closely with the management and board of Nilo.”

Nilo’s CEO, Glen Willoughby, said the company’s aim extends beyond urea formaldehyde to use large volumes of plastic trash of grades and sorts that are not now easily recycled to develop a variety of adhesives for use in various industrial applications.

Nilo aims to ensure that the performance and affordability of these adhesives are comparable to existing market options, allowing them to be easily integrated into the value chain. In addition, end-of-life products made using Nilo adhesives will be able to be reprocessed into new products, which is critical to the circular economy.

Construction of New Zealand’s first Ikea store is underway in Auckland.