Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/812736
NEW HAMPSHIRE: First in the Nation • Profiles in Excellence 193 8,000 pounds of total weight. When used in data cables, Nanocomp's materials can reduce the weight of the cable by up to 70 percent over traditional copper cables, potentially reducing that 8,000 pounds to just 2,400 pounds. is translates to a significant fuel savings and benefits the environment by reducing emissions. Creating composites with Miralon products does not only benefit the aerospace industry, it also shows immense promise in armor applications. Miralon sheet products are strong enough to stop bullets when layered on top of themselves and are lighter than many of the traditional materials used in making armor. For instance, the average weight of a so armor vest used by law enforcement is 6 pounds. While so armor has dramatically improved over the years, it has still not reached its optimal form. Improvements still need to be made to create ballistic protection that is light, flexible, breathable and comfortable, allowing for all-day wear without impeding the agility of the officer. Nanocomp has materials that can help armor manufacturers realize that optimal design. Miralon products are currently in qualification for use in so armor vests, with promising results. Using Miralon in a vest can make it 30 percent lighter and 20 percent thinner while offering equivalent ballistic performance. is means a 6-pound vest would now weigh a little over 4 pounds, while offering the same level of protection with less impedance to the movement of the officer. ese same benefits can extend to hard armor plates, helmets and vehicle armor. Nanocomp hopes to help save the lives of military ground forces and law enforcement with armor applications. e future applications for Nanocomp's products have almost no limit. If you can think it, Miralon products can likely fit it. For instance, power systems, including battery cables, motors and thermoelectric heat engines, show great potential for CNT use. Miralon's properties, both independently and in combination, could be the next clean energy solution in generation, storage, transmission, and efficiency. CNT sheet-based waste- heat recapture systems could transform heat losses into energy gains and offer the potential to increase the safety and storage capacity of lithium batteries. Perhaps of greatest significance are applications in which Nanocomp could serve many functions with one material. For example, on an aircra wing, Miralon products could act simultaneously as a de-icer, a lightning strike protector, a strengthening layer, and even an embedded conductor, replacing the need for wires throughout the wing without adding significant weight to the plane. e combination of high-strength, lightweight and conductivity is a materials advancement that compares to the commercialization of aluminum at the turn of the 19th century. Presently, Nanocomp is the only U.S. producer of such an array of CNT materials with the properties and scale and potential to be the strongest, lightest and most conductive material on earth. Nanocomp started in a tiny space in Lebanon before moving to an 11,000 square-foot facility in Concord. Today, in Merrimack, Nanocomp has 80 employees and operates three productions shis daily in its 60,000 square-foot facility, with plans to add an additional 40,000 square-feet in the next couple of years. At full capacity, the Merrimack facility will have the capability to produce close to 40 metric tons of Miralon sheet and yarn products annually. Nobody in the world has achieved what Nanocomp has, and the company expects to extend its market lead through the 21st century and beyond. For Nanocomp Technologies and New Hampshire, the sky is the limit. v Nanocomp's CNT material is prominently installed on the spacecraft's attitude control motor struts and main engine housing to provide electrostatic discharge protection often encountered in the rigorous environment of space. Miralon products are used by NASA on the Juno spacecraft, set to orbit Jupiter in 2016. N A S A