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NanoRidge Materials, Inc. Signs Contract for New Defense Armor
Leads to Expansion of Houston Facility Creating Jobs for the Region
HOUSTON, Texas (July 20, 2010) – NanoRidge Materials, Inc., a Houston based nanotechnology manufacturing company has partnered with Riley Solutions, Inc. to manufacture and supply specialized nanotechnology enhanced armor for the Department of Defense. As part of the partnership, Riley Solutions, Inc. is moving their headquarters from North Carolina to Houston, Texas, resulting in NanoRidge Materials, Inc. expanding into a 55,000 sq. ft. facility in the Houston area and creating 300 new jobs for the region within the next three years.
NanoRidge Materials, Inc., in close partnership with Riley Solutions Inc. (RSI), is delivering a groundbreaking armor for rigorous testing against the most destructive small arms fire. The armor is a remarkable blend of the very best in conventional light armor materials with the most advanced application of nanotechnology. This blended layering fundamentally improves the armor’s resilience to impact and penetration, and thus defeats the hostile round as it strikes the new composite material. After passing selection, this armor will provide U.S. military and law enforcement personnel serving at home or around the world with a better, lighter, and more cost effective protective solution than has ever been deployed before.
NanoRidge Materials, Inc. and Riley Solutions, Inc. have teamed to design and produce nano-enhanced products and have identified the key to efficiently exploiting nanomaterials for mechanical reinforcement. Using specialized processes to adapt the highly versatile chemistry of carbon nanomaterials, their natural bundles are dispersed to create stronger linkages that can then be incorporated into armor composites.
NanoRidge Materials, Inc. is a manufacturer of high-performance nanocomposite materials and composite components. Their materials and composite structures incorporate carbon nanotubes for dramatically improved properties that are of significant value to customers in aerospace, military, oil & gas, chemical, and construction markets. NanoRidge Materials, Inc. is a graduate company of the Houston Technology Center, a business accelerator that assists Houston-based emerging technology companies by providing in-depth business guidance, access to capital, professional services, and entrepreneurial education.
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Riley Solutions Inc. Selected for Competitive Role in DARPA
Armored Vehicle Challenge 2010
Houston, TX, July 20, 2010 – A new hybrid armor will undergo the most demanding and stringent testing by the Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) in Ballston, VA in the fall of 2010. After passing selection, this armor will be able to provide U.S. military and law enforcement personnel serving at home or around the world with a better, lighter, and more cost effective protective solution than has ever been deployed before.
Riley Solutions Inc. (RSI) of Houston, TX, in close partnership with NanoRidge Materials, Inc., is delivering a groundbreaking armor for rigorous testing against the most destructive small arms fire. The armor is a remarkable blend of the very best in conventional light-armor materials with the most advanced application of nanomaterials. This blended layering fundamentally improves the armor’s resilience to impact, penetration, and thus defeats the hostile round as it strikes the new composite material.
“After several years of independent development and research at our own expense, we were honored that DARPA selected RSI for the Armor II Challenge. RSI has developed a rigorous testing and evaluation program through independent certified test laboratories; we have outstanding scientists, military and law enforcement veterans who are committed to developing the finest solutions for our war fighters and law enforcement officers. Becoming a DARPA sponsored armor company will enable RSI to participate in the Government’s long term development of new nano-enhanced armor,” said John Tidrow, President of RSI.
RSI is a leading armor innovator located in Houston, TX. Kyle Kissell, Ph.D, RSI’s Technical Advisor, stated, “On the successful completion of the DARPA Challenge, it is expected that the company will seek significant expansion both in production and market sales with the complementary increase in employment for the county and State of Texas. RSI has a next generation armor system that excels through nanotechnology and advanced processing systems making stronger and lighter armor.”
RSI was founded in 2006 and established its initial Manufacturing facilities in Houston, TX. The company produces armor products that incorporate proprietary nanotechnologies into composite structures. The Company holds multiple patents and patent applications for the enhancement of ceramic & high density polyethylene. Teamed with NanoRidge Materials, Inc. for the design and production of all nano-enhanced products the Riley Team has identified the key to efficiently exploiting nanomaterials for mechanical reinforcement. Specialized and patented processes adapt the highly versatile chemistry of carbon nanotubes, altering its’ natural bundles to create stronger dispersed linkages that can then be incorporated into armor composites.
RSI has defined six levels of Nano-enhancement that are possible for ballistic armor products. These will control radio frequencies and provide embedded nano-monitoring systems for health and status of an armor panel. New advancement will provide the control of temperature on aircraft applications such as de-icing as well as reducing the heat signature and size footprint of an aircraft or vehicle. The material is available in curved and complex shapes.
This Houston based team is already delivering a rich technology platform and its foundational IP through industry-leading expertise in product applications of nanotechnology. With its strong Board of Directors and Advisory Team, in cooperation with its seasoned management, the RSI Team is commercially poised and ready with the very best nano-enhanced armor and products. Aaron Westrick, Ph.D., Director of Armor Design, stated, “Our strategic focus is now on market growth and profitability through product sales and manufacturing. We are seeking application and product development partners among industry leaders engaged in law enforcement, commercial, and military security.”
This news release was distributed by Riley Solutions Inc., www.rileysolutions.com, info@rileyarmor.com, Phone: 281-667-3607, Fax: 713-583-2850.
SOURCE: Riley Solutions Inc.
NIST Announces 56 New Awards For Innovative Technology R&D
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced 56 new awards for innovative industrial research and development projects under the agency’s Advanced Technology Program (ATP).
The new awards represent a broad range of technologies, including medical diagnostic techniques, alternative energy sources, manufacturing, semiconductor electronics, transportation, nanotechnology, energy conservation and automated language translation, among others.
A total of 69 companies and one non-profit organization will participate in the projects, which include nine joint ventures. Forty-eight of the projects are led by small businesses. The new awards potentially represent a total of up to $138.7 million in ATP funding together with an industry cost-share of up to $104 million, if all projects are carried through to completion. ATP awards are made contingent on available funding and on evidence of satisfactory progress throughout the multi-year research schedules.
The 56 projects were chosen in a competition announced last April and represent the last set of R&D projects to be funded under the ATP, which was abolished under the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69). The act allows for continued support for ongoing ATP projects, including those chosen in the FY 2007 competition.
The ATP provided cost-shared support to enable or accelerate high-risk industrial research projects. Projects were selected for funding by a competitive, peer-reviewed process that evaluated the scientific and technical merit of each proposal and the potential for broad-based benefits to the nation if the technology were successfully developed.
NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
A list of the 56 new projects follows.
NanoCable Project
NanoRidge Materials Inc. (Houston, Texas)
Joint venture partner:
The Boeing Company (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Develop a lightweight, electrical wire-and-cable system that can reduce fuel costs and improve energy efficiency in numerous applications including aerospace.
• Project duration: 3 years
o Projected ATP funding: $2,850 K
o Projected industry cost-share: $2,924 K
Project Brief
NanoCable Project
Develop a lightweight, electrical wire-and-cable system that can reduce fuel costs and improve energy efficiency in numerous applications including aerospace.
Sponsor: NanoRidge Materials Inc.
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• Project Performance Period: 11/1/2007 - 10/31/2010
• Total project (est.): $5,774,343.00
• Requested ATP funds: $2,850,173.00
A joint venture team comprised of NanoRidge Materials and The Boeing Company (Huntington Beach, Calif.) proposes to develop technology to produce NanoCable, a lightweight, highly conductive electrical wire and cable that could bring significant gains in fuel savings, energy efficiency, and operating costs to industrial and consumer users. Industries that would benefit most dramatically from the technology include aerospace, shipbuilding, power distributors and generation companies, and consumer electronics. Commercial aircraft, satellites, ships, generators, and personal computers are among the many products that could be made lighter and therefore more energy efficient using NanoCable. The technology is based on carbon nanotubes which conduct greater amounts of electric current than copper while having only one-sixth the weight. The cable would be composed of electrically conductive carbon nanotubes embedded in a polymer. The overall cable is estimated to be just half the weight of aluminum cable. A key technical challenge will be to design processing steps that would connect individual nanotubes in an optimal fashion, so as to maintain high levels of electrical conductivity. This is a high-risk project, involving an emerging technology company, and it holds the promise of bringing significant cost-saving gains to commercial enterprises and consumers while introducing a multi-use, industry-shifting product. By 2010, the market for conductive polymer cable is expected to be 465 million lbs per year, worth $1.4 billion annually.
Read the article on the NIST website. |
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