CAMBRIDGE, MA - SLIPS Technologies, a company that creates fully slippery coatings, has raised $8.6 million in new financing, including investments from Anzu Partners, BASF Venture Capital, private investor and Swiss entrepreneur Hansjörg Wyss, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The new funds will be used for product development and testing, commercialization, and expansion of core technologies.

The announcement also includes a recently awarded $2.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to develop and test SLIPS™ anti-fouling paints to address fuel efficiency and carbon emission problems from commercial cargo ships that are responsible for approximately 1% of the world's energy consumption.

As part of its continued growth, the company also announced that Chairman of the Board David Ward has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ward brings more than 20 years of experience growing technology companies as an entrepreneur, investor and CEO.

"Our customers are extremely excited about the significant value our materials and coatings bring to their businesses," said SLIPS Technologies CEO David Ward. "I am delighted to help this innovative company continue to scale during its commercial product launch phase."

SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces) is based on a portfolio of technologies invented by the Aizenberg Group at Harvard University and inspired by the slippery surface of the carnivorous Nepenthes plant. The company was spun-out from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in October 2014, supported by a $3 million Series A round of funding by BASF Venture Capital and Hansjörg Wyss.