Authentix, a pioneer in nano-optic security technologies, has signed a Cooperation and License Agreement with LEONHARD KURZ, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced high-security features. This partnership combines Authentix’s groundbreaking innovation with KURZ’s world-class production capacity.

Around the world, 166 issuing authorities circulate 1,007 banknote denominations in regular use, excluding commemoratives. According to data from the Reconnaissance DataVault, Asia leads the global charts with 314 active denominations, reflecting the region’s scale, diversity, and rapid monetary development.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) announced the winners of its inaugural Excellence in Optical Technologies Awards 2025 during a special ceremony held at the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference in Warsaw, Poland (see HOTN September 2025).

The security and authentication sector has seen a surge in significant acquisitions in recent years, enhancing capabilities and consolidating expertise. However, recent developments suggest a shift in focus. Partnerships and collaborations are now becoming more prominent. The question arises: is collaboration the way forward?

ZEISS, a global leader in optics and photonics, has entered a strategic partnership with LG Chem to secure large-scale, sustainable production of advanced photopolymer films.

Covestro, a German materials science company that was spun out from Bayer in 2015, is celebrating ten years of innovation and growth with an emphasis on sustainable solutions for secure documents. Over the past decade, Covestro has established itself as a leading supplier of high-performance polymer films for passports, ID cards, and driving licenses.

Hueck Folien has successfully commissioned a new high-vacuum vapour deposition facility at its headquarters in Baumgartenberg, Austria. The €8.6 million investment, announced in September 2024, includes both a new metallisation system and associated infrastructure upgrades, marking a major advance in the company’s production of high-performance coatings for the security sector (see HOT News October 2024).

The European Technology Platform Photonics21 and some of Europe’s largest companies – including Bosch, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia Bell Labs, Zeiss, Trumpf, and EssilorLuxottica – have united to urge the European Commission to prioritise photonics in the upcoming EU Framework Programme (FP10).

In the September issue of Holography & Optical Technology News™, Guri Dhillon wrote about why UV resin is widely used in security holograms, diffractive optical elements (DOEs), and high-resolution embossing applications. In this article, he examines how the curing wavelength influences dimensional stability and discusses formulation and process strategies that allow optical and micro-structured surfaces to be replicated with sub-micron precision.

A project at Duke University has demonstrated how commercial AI models could accelerate microscopic examination of 2D materials and analysis of the results.

IOTA member Pura Group’s ‘Combination Hologram Technology’ (CHT) merges classical optical origination with computer-generated holography (CGH) in a single, production-ready master – raising counterfeit resistance without asking converters to retool their embossing lines.

Missed the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference 2025? The full proceedings are now available, offering a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in physical, digital, and hybrid document security.

Hong Kong Customs has started a three-month pilot scheme under the new duty stamp system to tackle illicit tobacco sales and ensure tax compliance.

At the recent LUXEPACK Monaco (29 September-1 October), Rolling Optics, a subsidiary of Oberthur, unveiled Fidaro™ – a micro-optic-based brand protection solution for packaging, labels, and product integration.

The Bank of Botswana has unveiled a 50 pula banknote commemorating its first Olympic gold medallist, sprinter Letsile Tebogo, who won the 200 metres, and the men’s 4 x 400 metre relay team that he anchored to a silver medal, at the Paris Olympic Games last year.

Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) has announced its new family banknotes series in the denominations of BND1, BND5, BND10, BND100 and BND500, scheduled to enter circulation in the first half of 2026.

Spectra Systems announced its first-half yearly performance for 2025, with revenues surging 54% to $34.97 million, up from $22.74 million in the same period last year.

Giancarlo Vimercati, the founder of Pilot Italia, passed away in July 2025. In 1968, Giancarlo Vimercati founded Pilot Italia, a label converter that gradually became well-known in the Italian label business.

KURZ Banknote Security’s production site in Sulzbach-Rosenberg in Germany celebrates its 30th anniversary this year (see HOT News August 2025), in honour of which the company has produced a series of celebration ‘Tree of Life’ notes themed around the beauty and strength of nature and the passage of time.

Diffractive optically variable image devices (DOVIDs) are widely used to protect documents against counterfeiting and misuse. They are commonly integrated into multilayer holographic foils, which are either hot-stamped onto documents such as credit cards, driving licenses, identity cards, passports, and banknotes or embedded into laminates that are heat-sealed to a document’s surface.