SkyNano is a force to be reckoned with | A new follow-on investment announced
SkyNano uses CO2 and electricity to produce solid carbon and oxygen. The start-up stores CO2 permanently as carbon nanomaterials for consumer goods.
SkyNano is a clean‑tech startup based just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, that has developed a novel method to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial emissions or the atmosphere and convert it electrochemically into solid carbon nanomaterials. These multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene flakes can be used to produce consumer goods.
On June 24, SkyNano announced the extension of its National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research award, focused on priming SkyNano for scaling production.
The industrial and societal implications of this scaled system include promising resolution for various modern technical issues. One such issue is the cement industry, with concrete being the most ubiquitous engineered material on the planet. The unique mechanical and electrical properties of MWCNTs as an additive in concrete will enable strong building materials with real-time structural monitoring.
This nearly $500K NSF Phase IIB supplemental award was originally accepted in late 2024 and contributes to engineering efforts in the scale-up and transition to continuous production of SkyNano’s novel CO2 to carbon nanotube (CNT) system.
Currently, the company’s electrochemical process promises the production of high-demand carbon materials domestically, at lower costs than competing manufacturers.
“Not only does our process capture and convert CO2, but it also provides a permanent solution to carbon storage,” said Anna Douglas, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “With scaled and continuous production operations, our team will help develop a domestic supply chain of advanced carbon nanomaterials, which will improve consumer products and infrastructure alike.”
The Phase IIB grant applies resources to the prototyping, engineering, and evaluation of a continuous reactor capable of producing high quality MWCNTs effectively and efficiently.
Other recent wins
SkyNano, you may have noticed, has been in the news a lot recently. Douglas and her team are on a roll. Recently, they secured a $1.25M Air Force SBIR to develop domestic CO2-derived graphite (with Eonix – see story here), $1M Navy Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) to develop ultra-high performance concrete with embedded sensing capabilities (with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville), and $1.6M DOE SBIR to scale our production technology (see story here).
You can learn more about SkyNano’s technology on its website.
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