SBIR Phase II: Nanomanufacturing process simulation and design

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in launching a scalable, environmentally-safe, chemical manufacturing process capable of producing high performance, cost-competitive, and domestically-sourced magnetic materials suitable for a large range of industrial and consumer applications. This will drive jobs growth in the US, reduce supply chain risk, improve national security by reducing reliance on foreign sole sources for critical materials, and enable greater energy efficiency nationwide. Nanofoundry's carbide-based nanostructured magnet material represents the first major innovation in permanent magnetic materials since the early 1980's. In combination with an innovative manufacturing method, Nanofoundry expects to produce a large range of high value nanoparticle materials at low cost at industrial volumes. The permanent magnet market is $14 billion and is growing at nearly 9% annually. Nanofoundry projects that its first generation product, Cobalt Carbide nanoparticles, could capture $600 million of that market in 2018 dollars and that its second generation product (for which this project is foundational), could have an 80% to 90% cost advantage over current products, with the potential to capture over 30% of the global market. This project will break through historical barriers in two areas: launching a new product technology to the magnet market-the first transformational innovation in three decades-and developing a commercially-viable manufacturing capability to produce high-quality magnetic nanoparticle material at industrial scales. The specific focus of this project is to develop a scalable chemical production process to manufacture magnetic Cobalt Carbide nanoparticle material, and to prototype the use of the material in an end-use application. Several key innovations of this program include (1) the optimization of a class of cobalt carbide nanoparticles for use as a permanent magnet material, (2) the application of continuous flow microreactor wet chemical process technology to the manufacturing of high quality nanoparticle carbides at large scale, and (3) the use of supercritical solvents for efficiency and environmentally-friendly processing.