Ceramatec, Inc. is a research and development company with an international reputation for developing innovative technologies and products, especially those based on advanced ceramic materials that selectively transport key chemicals (hydrogen, oxygen, or sodium, for example) across barriers that remain impermeable to other unwanted chemicals. This field, requiring expertise in both ceramics and electro-chemistry, is known as Solid State Ionics (SSI), and it lies at the heart of solid oxide fuel cells, some types of gas sensors, and a variety of other important advanced technologies .

In the last five years alone, Ceramatec's innovations have been recognized with over 25 issued U.S. patents, and scores of foreign ones as well. Founded as a contract R&D firm by two professors from the University of Utah in 1976, Ceramatec initially worked with the Ford Motor Company to develop a sodium-sulfur battery, and a new company (Beta Power, Inc.) was created to market this product. Although Ceramatec did not pursue this development effort, an independent company was formed, Beta Power, that was later purchased by Chloride Silent Power Ltd.

During the early years of the Company's history, it won over 20 research grants and continued to partner with larger firms, developing expertise and products incorporating both solid state ionics and structural ceramics.

In 1989, Ceramatec was acquired by Elkem, a large multinational corporation based in Norway , and it was run as an operating unit of that firm for the next eleven years. During this time, the Company moved into its current 90,000 sq. ft. facility in South Salt Lake , and Elkem invested substantially into developing Ceramatec's infrastructure and capabilities. As its powder processing, micro-fabrication, and system prototyping capabilities were enhanced, Ceramatec came to be almost unique among SSI developers in its self-sufficiency, being able to produce finished products starting from raw elements.

A business was developed around novel ceramic oxygen sensors, and in 1998 that business unit was sold as a new, Utah-based company (Maxtec, Inc.) with approximately $6 million in sales and 25 employees.

Another new company, Microlin, Inc., was formed the in 1999 to commercialize technologies for controlled release of fluids in areas including drug delivery systems, commercial and industrial products, and in agriculture applications.

In February of 2000, the Company returned to its entrepreneurial roots as a U.S. small business when Dr. Ashok Joshi acquired Ceramatec from Elkem in a management buyout, and became the new owner, President & CEO. With a strong commitment to the market-driven creation of new products that leverage our infrastructure, expertise, and 25 years of experience in product development, Dr. Joshi has pursued an ambitious plan to forge new strategic alliances, develop new products and develop new companies dedicated to commercializing these products.

Under Dr. Joshi's guidance Ceramatec has accelerated its growth and subsequently doubled its work force to over 100 employees of which nearly a third have advanced degrees in science or engineering.

Technology Development History

Over the last 25 plus years, Ceramatec has developed innovative products and technologies ranging from novel fluid delivery systems to breakthrough advances in fuel cell technology. The following are some current programs of note:

Point of use Gas Separation

Ceramatec has an extensive history in developing solid-state ion transfer membranes for the separation of high purity gases from complex mixtures. Ceramatec has work (change to worked) with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. in the development of devices for point of use separation of high purity oxygen from air for commercial and medical applications. This expertise is now being extended to develop point-of-use high purity Hydrogen generators for use in alternative energy systems like Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs):

One reviewer for a recently awarded DOE grant noted that "The staff of Ceramatec are one of the most highly qualified groups of SOFC researchers in the world, and should be able to successfully complete this project." With a history dating back to 1985, 18 issued U.S. patents and longer operating data than any other firm except Siemens Westinghouse, the Company is a well established and widely recognized for its work in this field. As a subcontractor to McDermott Technologies, Inc., Ceramatec has succeeded in creating the world's first reproducible co-fired solid oxide fuel cells. Ceramatec is a member of a DOE supported industrial group led by Cummins Power Generation to receive $74.2MM over the next ten years as part of the SECA initiative to create lower cost SOFC units.

NaSICON:
Ceramatec was one of the first companies to work at commercializing an unusual class of materials, collectively referred to as NaSICON, which have the ability to selectively remove sodium ions from solutions via an electrochemical process. With potential applications ranging from desalination to cleansing effluents from pulp & paper plants, the most striking demonstration of the technology to date has been in the realm of radioactive waste disposal. In tests conducted by the DOE at their Savannah River site, Ceramatec's NaSICON membranes were shown to offer more stability and greater selectivity (zero leakage of radioactive cesium) for reducing the volume of contaminated tank wastes in the nation's nuclear facilities. In another potential environmental application, a device using modified NaSICON materials was recently shown to remove hydrogen sulfide from a gas stream, providing a new method for reducing sulfur emissions from automotive and power production sources.

Syngas:

Ceramatec has been a founding member of a team developing and implementing state of the art ceramic membrane technology for the production of Syngas from Natural Gas. Consisting of a number of industrial, academic, and government partners, a team was assembled in 1997 to begin a comprehensive, eight year research and development program to investigate the potential for using solid oxide, mixed conducting electrolytes to produce oxygen at elevated temperatures for use in converting natural gas to hydrogen or Syngas. Funding was received from the U.S. Department of Energy through a competitive proposal process that, when combined with matching funds and in kind support from team members forms an $85MM, 8 year program to advance the ion transport membrane concept from bench to commercial scale. Today this program is advancing from the R&D concept stage toward scale-up and commercialization. Ceramatec serves a central role in this program by serving as the Ceramic research and manufacturing center of excellence.

AlON:

A senior Ceramatec research scientist has proposed a different method of preparation for the transparent ceramic material known as AlON, which could result in significant cost savings to the military. With the encouragement of the Undersecretary of Defense, the armor experts at the Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) have teamed with the Company to pursue this potentially important line of work.