Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., a developer of performance materials and component products from carbon nanotubes (CNTs), today announced it has been selected by the United States Government, under the Defense Production Act Title III program ("DPA Title III"), to supply CNT yarn and sheet material for the program needs of the Department of Defense, as well as to create a path toward commercialization for civilian industrial use.
Nanocomp's CNT yarn and sheet materials are currently featured within the advanced design programs of several critical DoD and NASA applications.
The mission of DPA Title III is to create assured, affordable and commercially viable production of technology that has been specifically identified as essential for national defense, but where U.S. industry cannot be reasonably expected to deliver due to market conditions and other fiscal barriers. In a recent Presidential Determination, Nanocomp's CNT sheet and yarn material has been uniquely named to satisfy this critical gap, and the Company entered into a long-term lease on a 100,000 square foot, high-volume manufacturing facility in Merrimack, N.H., to meet projected production demand.
"To maintain a competitive edge in defense, there is an urgent need for a new generation of multifunctional materials to improve combat systems in space, air, ground and sea," said Peter Antoinette, president and CEO of Nanocomp Technologies. "We are extremely proud that our CNT material can deliver these strategic advantages and our efforts now turn to creating a full-scale production facility that will help the United States maintain its tactical military edge and continue the path towards broad insertion of carbon nanotube-based products across commercial industry."
The U.S. Dept. of Defense recognizes that CNT materials are vital to several of its next generation platforms and components, including lightweight body and vehicle armor with superior strength, improved structural components for satellites and aircraft, enhanced shielding on a broad array of military systems from electromagnetic interference (EMI) and directed energy, and lightweight cable and wiring. The Company's CTex CNT yarns and tapes, for example, can reduce the weight of aircraft wire and cable harnesses by as much as 50 percent, resulting in considerable operational cost savings, as well as provide other valuable attributes such as flame resistance and improved reliability.
"While U.S. industry has achieved nominal CNT production rates for demonstration and evaluation purposes, we recognize that production volume must be expanded to meet current and projected national security requirements," said Mark Buffler, program director, DPA Title III program. "We have therefore applied the authorities of Title III of the Defense Production Act to stimulate the investment into a timely expansion of cost-competitive, flexible and responsive manufacturing capabilities in support of the country's anticipated needs."
Most recently, Nanocomp's EMSHIELDTM sheet material was incorporated into the Juno spacecraft, launched on August 5, 2011, to provide protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) as the spacecraft makes its way through space to Jupiter and is only one example of many anticipated program insertions for Nanocomp Technologies' CNT materials.