November 29, 2004 Ceramatec Announces $2.6 Million Project to Produce Hydrogen from Water

In a major step toward achieving President George W. Bush's goal of ensuring America's energy security through innovative technologies, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) and Ceramatec, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah have demonstrated the feasibility of using nuclear energy to efficiently produce hydrogen from water.  Read more...

Related Articles and Information:

New York Times 11-28-2004

New York Times 11-29-2004

Salt Lake Tribune 11-29-2004

President Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative Summary

February 21, 2003 Ceramatec Recognized by Stoel Rives and University of Utah

Ceramatec was recently recognized by the firm of Stoel Rives and the University of Utah for innovation in the field of Ceramic Electrodes & Corona Generation technology for the application of a solid state corona discharge chip in the treatment of wounds. This wound-healing bandage utilizing a proprietary solid-state corona discharge device that can deliver powerful oxidants, mild ultra violet light energy, and warmth directly to a wound.

These are agents that help to kill bacteria in the wound and stimulate blood flow. When applied, these agents have been well characterized in the literature as providing very beneficial attributes in the management of acute surgical wounds and chronic localized wounds.

In laboratory testing the corona discharge device has been shown to be highly effective in killing the pathogens commonly encountered in wound infections. Due to the compact size of the corona device a variety of formats are possible with this wound healing treatment .

Dr. Ashok Joshi, President and CEO of Ceramatec was awarded the Medal for Science and Technology by the Governor of the State of Utah for significant contributions that positively impact the state of Utah through furthering the advancement of science and technology in the industrial sector. Dr. Joshi's professional life has been dedicated to the development and commercialization of ionic technologies primarily here in Utah , but also in other US locations, as well as his native India . He holds over 60 patents in the field. He is an active member in the Industrial Research Institute and has twice been the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Ionics. Dr. Joshi received his PhD from Northwestern University in Materials Sciences. Under Dr. Joshi Ceramatec has doubled its high tech workforce and represents Utah in high profile industries such as alternate energy sources, specifically Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Ceramatec under Dr. Joshi's guidance continues the development of new technologies that will develop into new business entities for Utah .

July 10, 2002 Ceramatec Invited by the US Federal government to attend Homeland Security Meeting:

Ceramatec was one of 50 US companies invited to Washington DC to present new technologies for Homeland Security. At that symposium Ceramatec shared information regarding technologies under development that address such topics as purifying air and water in the event of a chemical or biological attack and the development of a transparent light weight ceramic armor for use in military vehicles. Ceramatec has ongoing projects focus on Homeland Security and Defense with a number of government agencies.

June 10, 2003 Ceramatec wins Three new DOE Phase I SBIR Awards

Ceramatec was awarded three new Phase I awards for the FY 2003 DOE SBIR round.  The projects target joining of ceramic composites for application in the nuclear power generation industry, new environmental barrier coatings for turbines in syngas environments and a new type of insulation for solid oxide fuel cells. Dr. Balky Nair, the Technical Program Manager for Ceramatec's New Business group said that Ceramatec scientists are excited at the prospect of working on these new programs that are not only scientifically challenging, but have tremendous commercial benefits.   Ceramatec uses the SBIR program to diversify its technology portfolio through the development of new technologies, thereby laying the foundations for new businesses and business units.

Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Awards:

As a small business involved in advanced research and development Ceramatec participates in the US government's program for Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Awards. Through this program government funded agencies can directly cultivate the benefits from leveraging the tremendous innovation that can occur in a small company like Ceramatec and provide it with the resources necessary to mature these innovative ideas into commercial businesses, meet the critical need of our nations defense, or simply further our understanding in key areas like alternative energy sources.

Department of Defense Awards Ceramatec SBIR Grant to Develop Enhanced Toughness Armor
Recent efforts at engineering the microstructures of silicon carbide (SiC) have resulted in fracture toughness values that are 2-3 times that of conventionally sintered SiC. However, these methods of toughening have resulted in decreased hardness, a property that is critical for armor applications. In this Phase I project, scientists at Ceramatec are developing next generation SiC materials by tailoring the microstructure through innovative processing routes to enhance the toughness of the composite material without sacrificing hardness. Both law enforcement and the protective services industry would be interested in more efficient vehicle armor. Further, these materials could benefit both public and private armored vehicles used for humanitarian demining and unexploded ordinance cleanup.

Department of Energy Awards Ceramatec SBIR Grant to Develop High-Temperature Highly-Efficient Ceramic Heat Exchanger
Ceramic materials, as compared to metals, can increase the allowable operating temperatures used in the construction of heat exchangers for electric power generation systems and increase the overall efficiency of the power cycle. The Ceramatec team is developing a reliable, high temperature ceramic heat exchanger that could be incorporated into a gas turbine power generator. The compact, ceramic heat exchanger could be used in many centralized power generation plants and mobile heat engines and is particularly well suited to the development of solid oxide fuel cells for electric power generation. Additionally, the thermal, mechanical and chemical properties of these micro-channel based structures can be adapted to other devices such as heat pipes, fuel processors, gas separators and integrated reactors for chemical synthesis.

Department of Energy Awards Ceramatec SBIR Grant to Develop Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC) offer significant advantages in the conversion of fossil fuels to electrical power, including very high power efficiencies. Current SOFC configurations require high-temperatures (> 800°C) for efficient operation. However, high-temperature operation is costly due to higher energy requirements, radiation losses, and material sintering problems. Therefore, intermediate temperature fuel cells that operate at 550-700°C can be very attractive alternative systems. The Ceramatec team is relying on its extensive experience in materials development for both high temperature and intermediate temperature SOFCs to develop baseline electrode compositions that will result in the desired electrode properties to enhance the operating characteristics and endurance of intermediate temperature fuel cells.

Department of Defense (Navy) Awards Ceramatec SBIR Grant to Develop Micro-Fabricated Ceramic Components For Optical Fiber Connetcors In Harsh Operational Environments
The Navy has a pending need to develop fiber-optic interconnects that perform under harsh operating conditions. A novel ceramic material developed at Ceramatec Inc. is being used to fabricate optical fiber connectors with mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties superior to currently used materials under harsh operating conditions. The proposed material is a nanophase ceramic composite whose composition and microstructure can be tailored, depending on the specific requirements of the application, by simple changes in the processing technique.

National Science Foundation Awards Ceramatec SBIR Grant to Develop Innovative and Cost-Effective Process for Net-Shape Microfabrication of Ceramic Components
Ceramatec scientists are developing an innovative, cost-effective technique for microfabrication of components with properties and/or production efficiency comparable to or superior to that of silicon technology. The high production capacity and tight dimensional tolerances for components fabricated using this material/ technique makes it an attractive option for optic fiber components and substrates for MEMS devices. The inherent thermo-chemical stability of ceramics, and the fact that high surface areas can be attained through process modifications make this material very attractive for fabrication of microchannel devices for gas separation/reformation.