PART 5: Morris reviews final two technologies
(EDITOR’S NOTE: John Morris, a long-time player in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge entrepreneurial ecosystem, has been assisting Consolidated Nuclear Services, managing contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex, make prospective licensees around the Southeast aware of the organization’s available technologies. This is the final article in a five-part series examining those technologies.)
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
The last two technologies being pitched to interested individuals in the “Y-12 Road Show” reflect diverse areas – knowledge preservation and carbon nanotube production.
Knowledge Preservation Management
Many organizations are dealing with the challenge of “Baby Boomers” retiring, taking with them a significant amount of knowledge that is difficult to replicate. That information needs to be captured. How do you do that?
In the case of Y-12, it has built a system to preserve that valuable knowledge in a unique way.
“It captures all knowledge around a job in one place,” John Morris says. The system manages input from a variety of sources – videos, animation, work instruction, interviews, and process maps to name a few.
“It becomes a just-in-time learning resource with easy web access,” Morris explains, adding, “This is a pretty big market.”
He says he found only one company doing anything exactly like Y-12’s Knowledge Preservation Management system.
In Morris’ view, the “go to market strategy” could be an online SaaS (software as a service) model with an annual fee per employee. He adds that there are nearly 1,900 companies with 2,500 or more employees, an ideal target.
Pro-Ox Nano
“Roland Seals created a way to produce carbon nanotubes in high volume,” Morris says of this technology opportunity and a well-known Y-12 researcher.
The technology challenge that Pro-Ox Nano has overcome is the high cost of producing carbon nanotubes (from $25 to $300 per gram), a high production failure rate, and inconsistent quality when produced in large quantities.
“It’s $.50 per gram,” Morris says is the cost of goods for Pro-Ox Nano nanotubes, which can be used in a variety of applications such as strengthening paint.
One of the most attractive aspects of this technology is the cost of starting production. Morris believes it could be as low as $50,000.
Individuals interested in learning more about these technologies should contact otcp@y12.doe.gov.
