Dimpora develops sports clothing membrane

Waterproof and yet still breathable. Clothing with these qualities and functionalities is often fitted with membranes that contain fluorine compounds, which pose a risk to both the environment and our health. However, the membrane developed by Mario Stucki as part of his Master’s degree at ETH Zurich does not contain any toxic fluorine compounds, as announced by ETH Zurich in a press release . Stucki’s innovative membrane can reportedly “still match conventional membranes in terms of impermeability and breathability”, the press release continues.

The idea, which picks up on Stucki’s doctoral thesis completed in 2017, has now been tested in practice. The postdoctoral chemical engineer now intends to bring this business idea to market maturity. To this end, Stucki has founded the Zurich-based start-up Dimpora in tandem with his ETH Zurich colleague Anna Beltzung, who is likewise a postdoctoral chemical engineer.

Their first step will be to have athletes test a jacket prototype, which has already been produced. The two budding entrepreneurs intend to make further improvements to the membrane based on the feedback received from the testing stage, before pitching their product to sports and outdoor clothing manufacturers towards the end of the year.

In the press release, Stucki comments: “Our goal is not to manufacture our own clothing with this membrane, but rather buy garments which we can then fit with the membrane and subsequently sell on to the manufacturers of outdoor and sports clothing.” The chemical engineer and founder of Dimpora is already considering his next business idea, including the development of a fully biodegradable membrane.