BASF Venture Capital (www.basf-vc.com), the innovation fund of Germany’s largest chemical and plastics producer BASF (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com), is investing in China’s 3D printing market, taking an undisclosed stake in Prismlab (Shanghai; www.prismlab.com), a manufacturer of 3D printing processes and 3D printers. The German group said this first direct investment in a Chinese company supports its strategy of advancing its technologies in the 3D printing sector. The capital injection, it added, is aimed at accelerating Prismlab’s product development and market reach.

According to BASF, the Chinese company’s patented "Pixel Resolution Enhanced Technology" boasts a high printing speed as well as a high level of precision and lower printing costs while also increasing printing resolution. Based on stereolithography (SLA), in which a photopolymer solution is laser-cured to shape the required workpiece, the patented process is said to allow comparatively large and stable components such as medical braces and anatomical models to be 3D printed in the same production step, using light-curing resins.

With China’s transformation from a manufacturing-driven to an innovation-driven economy, Zheng Daqing, BASF’s senior VP, Business and Market Development Greater China, said the investment in Prismlab reflects the group’s commitment to expanding its innovation capabilities in China. The Shanghai-based firm, which has received funding from China’s "National Key R&D" programme, in 2013 developed the sub-pixel microscanning light-cured 3D printing technology.