SL6733 is a two-component polymer snowmaking additive made by DeepSnow. It combines an ultra-high-molecular-weight anionic poly(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate) — which inhibits ice recrystallization — with a cold-water-swelling starch nucleant that distributes freezing sites through the water. Dosed at roughly 6–7.6 ppm in snowmaking water, it is designed to give a modelled +3 °C wet-bulb advantage, letting resorts make usable snow in marginal conditions with the guns they already own.
SL6733 is the first product from DeepSnow, the platform brand of SnowLabs Limited (Ireland). It is a drop-in additive, not a piece of capital equipment, and it is positioned as the chemistry-based, regulatory-clean option for markets where snowmaking additives are permitted. This article explains what it is made of, how it works, what it is claimed to do, and where it fits.
Key takeaways
- SL6733 is a two-component polymer additive: an anionic PAM-co-acrylate polymer plus a starch nucleant.
- It works by ice recrystallization inhibition + distributed nucleation — a different mechanism from a biological nucleant.
- Dosing is ~6–7.6 ppm; it is a drop-in additive compatible with existing snow guns and lances.
- The headline modelled outcome is a +3 °C wet-bulb advantage → 300–500 extra snowmaking hours/season on a mid-sized EU resort. These figures are modelled; SL6733 is pre-commercial.
- It is engineered to fit existing EU/US chemical pathways (REACH polymer exemption; TSCA polymer-exemption candidate), not the biological-agent frameworks that shaped Snomax.
What is SL6733 made of?
SL6733 has two active components. The first is an ultra-high-molecular-weight (roughly 15–20 MDa) anionic poly(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate). Its carboxylate groups interfere with the coarsening of ice crystals, inhibiting recrystallization so the snow that forms is finer, denser and more durable. The second is a cold-water-swelling starch nucleant that provides nucleation sites distributed throughout the water volume.
The polymer is supplied through established industrial chemistry (SNF Floerger's FLOPAM line). This is the same anionic-polyacrylamide family used for decades in water treatment and agriculture — not a novel or exotic molecule — which is part of why its safety and regulatory profile is well characterised. For how SL6733 sits within the wider category, see our complete guide to snowmaking additives.
How does SL6733 work?
SL6733 combines two effects that a single-mechanism nucleant does not. The anionic polymer inhibits ice recrystallization — it disrupts the process by which small ice crystals merge into larger ones — while the starch component supplies distributed nucleation, seeding freezing across the droplet volume. Together they let the system produce usable snow at a higher wet-bulb temperature than the same guns manage unaided.
The recrystallization-inhibition part is the scientifically distinctive piece. It acts on snow structure and durability, not just on the freezing threshold, which is why SL6733's benefit shows up both as more snowmaking hours and as denser, longer-lasting snow. The general science of ice recrystallization inhibition underpins this and a broader DeepSnow research pipeline.
What does SL6733 actually do for a resort?
The core claim is a +3 °C wet-bulb advantage: SL6733 is modelled to let a system make usable snow when the wet-bulb temperature is a few degrees higher than the conventional threshold. Because snowmaking hours cluster near that threshold, the modelled effect is 300–500 additional snowmaking hours per season on a mid-sized EU resort — which the operator can take as more snow or as the same snow for less water and energy.
It is important to state these plainly as modelled outcomes. SL6733 is pre-commercial and targeting EU lab pilots; the wet-bulb advantage, added hours and any EBITDA figures are modelled, not field-audited results. DeepSnow's positioning is deliberately specific rather than superlative — the numbers are stated with their basis, and where a figure is a projection it is labelled as one.
| Attribute | SL6733 | |---|---| | Type | Two-component polymer additive (drop-in) | | Components | Anionic PAM-co-sodium-acrylate + cold-water-swelling starch | | Mechanism | Ice recrystallization inhibition + distributed nucleation | | Dose | ~6–7.6 ppm in snowmaking water | | Modelled wet-bulb advantage | +3 °C | | Modelled season gain | 300–500 extra snowmaking hours | | Equipment change | None — works with existing guns/lances | | Status | Pre-commercial; EU pilots targeted |
Do you need to change your equipment?
No. SL6733 is dosed into the snowmaking water supply, so it works with whatever snow guns, lances and pump infrastructure a resort already runs. There is no rip-and-replace of capital equipment — the additive complements existing hardware rather than competing with it. That is a deliberate design choice: the cheapest way to widen the operable window should not require re-buying the snowmaking system.
This also shapes how DeepSnow works with the industry. Equipment makers that do not sell an additive are natural integration partners rather than competitors, because SL6733 makes their installed guns more productive in marginal conditions.
Is SL6733 safe and compliant?
SL6733 is engineered to fit existing chemical frameworks, with its safety-controlling parameter — residual acrylamide monomer — held to a low specification (≤0.05%), consistent with the limits already accepted for polyacrylamide in drinking-water treatment and agricultural water use. Under REACH, the finished polymer is exempt from registration; in the US it is a candidate for the TSCA polymer exemption.
Two honest caveats, because DeepSnow's credibility depends on them. First, "candidate for the TSCA exemption" is not the same as "TSCA-exempt" — that determination is pending. Second, polyacrylamide is not readily biodegradable; the defensible profile is non-bioaccumulative, low aquatic toxicity, ppm dosing. And SL6733 is only relevant where additives are permitted at all — not in Austria or Bavaria, which prohibit all additives, and as a chemistry-based option in France, Italy and Switzerland.
How does SL6733 compare to Snomax?
SL6733 and Snomax target the same operator goal — snow in marginal conditions — by different means. Snomax is a biological nucleant; SL6733 is a synthetic polymer that adds recrystallization inhibition and is assessed as a chemical rather than a biological agent. We cover the full comparison, including where each is permitted, in our guide to the EU-compliant alternatives to Snomax.
Where DeepSnow is taking this
SL6733 is DeepSnow's near-term product; the same platform — a wet lab plus an AI discovery engine — is designed to produce a pipeline of ice-control chemistries for snowmaking and adjacent verticals. If you operate snowmaking in a market where additives are permitted and want the modelled performance for your climate, elevation and water source, join the waitlist or talk to us.
SL6733 is in a pre-commercial pilot phase. The wet-bulb advantage, added-hours and any economic figures in this article are modelled, not field-audited results. This is informational, not legal advice.