Nanocomp - About Us

Nanocomp Technologies Inc (NCTI), based in Concord, NH, was formed in 2004 as a spin-out of Synergy Innovations, Inc., a technology development company. NCTI’s vision is to leverage its proprietary and fundamental advancements in the production of long carbon nanotubes together with a unique ability to fabricate them into physically strong, lightweight, electro-thermally conductive spun yarns and sheets. The company’s goal is to create products with revolutionary performance benefits, creating a new generation of electro-energy and thermal management devices, and advanced structural materials. Carbon nanotubes are the foundation for accomplishing this goal.

It has been long known that individual carbon nanotubes have extraordinary properties:

• Strength - 100 times stronger than steel
• Conduct Electricity
• Conduct Heat
• Lightweight

NCTI Manufacturing Facility - click to enlarge

However, up to now, competitive commercial manufacturing processes have generally produced only short carbon nanotubes – usually tens of microns long - with current carbon nanotubes generally available in powder formats.  And, as with most powders, they can be quite difficult to incorporate into final manufactured goods.  Perhaps most importantly, final products made from traditional powdery nanotubes have poor bulk properties - exhibiting less than optimal strength and conductivity.

NCTI’s patent pending processes change the game. We have developed methods to continuously produce very long, pure, carbon nanotubes, in the millimeter range of length, at high growth rates. Longer nanotubes mean greater strength, higher conductivity, easier handling, and greater product safety.  They are key to providing the attractive properties exhibited by individual tubes.

Today’s nanotubes are also quite expensive – usually too expensive for use in volume industrial applications. This is a result of the significant amounts of impurities generated in their manufacture. Extensive and expensive post growth purification is usually needed to remove these impurities.

NCTI’s process produces very pure materials that do not require post-growth purification. High initial purity, combined with high output production rates hold the promise of achieving excellent process economics and product affordability as we scale the process

However, long nanotubes are only part of the story.

NCTI Production Furnaces - click to enlarge

Widespread industrial use of carbon nanotubes has also been limited due to a lack of volume production methods to create long nanotube fibers or sheets, with attractive physical properties, for use in final products.

To address this, NCTI has also developed novel methods to fabricate its nanotubes into structurally strong and electro-thermally conductive fibers, yarns, and sheets.  They are delivering on some of the long awaited promises of carbon nanotubes.  For example our products exhibit:

• High Strength – our spun conductive yarns exhibit breaking strengths up to 3 GPa expressed or in other terms: 1.5 Nt/Tex or 450,000 psi and with fracture toughness that is higher than aramids (such as Kevlar® or Twaron®).  Our CNT sheets have breaking strengths, without binders, that range from 500 MPa to 1.2 GPa depending upon tube orientation.  Aluminum breaks at 500 MPa, carbon steel breaks around 1 GPa.
  
  
• Electrical Conductivity – Capable of carrying more current than copper and are also more conductive than copper at high frequencies.
  
  
• Thermal Conductivity - Capability to transfer more heat than copper or silver on a
  per weight basis.
  
  
• Thermoelectric behavior - Demonstrate a Seebeck coefficient of greater than 60 µV/ºK
  and power greater than 1 watt/gram.
  
  
• Extremely Lightweight – Less than half the weight of aluminum

To leverage these properties we have created value added components, such as conductive cables, thermal straps, EMI shielding “skins,” and high strength sheets or yarns for incorporation into final end-user products

Nanocomp Technologies has been proud to partner with both the United States Army Natick Soldier Center and the United States Navy Office of Naval Research to develop and scale its nanotube production technology for the benefit of those serving in our Armed Forces.

Kevlar® is a product and registered trademark of DuPont