SIR Anish Kapoor provoked a bitter row when it was revealed he would have exclusive rights to paint with the world's blackest material.

Now the Newhaven company behind it has revealed the revolutionary material is available in a more user-friendly spay-paint form.

While Kapoor retains the exclusive right to paint with it, Surrey NanoSystem’s Vantablack can be used on a whole range of products outside the art world, opening it up for commercial use.

The spray version of the world's blackest coating material, Vantablack S-VIS, can be applied to virtually any surface.

It works by trapping light and making three dimensional objects appear two dimensional, as their surface shapes become invisible.

Surrey NanoSystems, based at the Euro Business Park in New Road, claims Vantablack "is not a colour, but the complete absence of all colour."

The new version can be sprayed onto larger more complex shapes and structures.

The material traps 99.8 per cent of incident light, which makes objects appear as two-dimensional black holes, as it becomes impossible to make out surface topography.

The original Vantablack set a world record for absorption of light at 99.965 per cent and was originally developed for satellite earth observation systems.

Other applications have since emerged, including solar-energy collector elements, surfaces in buildings and architecture, cinematographic projectors, high-performance lenses, and scientific instruments.

Its ability to deceive the eye also opens up a range of design possibilities to enhance styling and appearance in luxury goods and jewellery.

Ben Jensen of Surrey NanoSystems said: "The original Vantablack coating has had a big impact on the market, and is helping many companies to bring out higher-performing equipment.

"We are continuing to develop the technology, and the new sprayable version really does open up the possibility of applying super-black coatings in many more types of airborne or terrestrial applications.

“Possibilities include commercial products such as cameras, equipment requiring improved performance in a smaller form factor, as well as differentiating the look of products by means of the coating's unique aesthetic appearance. It's a major step forward compared with today's commercial absorber coatings."

Coating with Vantablack S-VIS is offered as a service from Surrey NanoSystems’ Newhaven centre.

It is also available under license to companies wishing to integrate the coating into their production processes.