Buckeye Composites is a new division of NanoTechLabs (NTL), the largest producer of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the United States. With headquarters, research and manufacturing facilities in Yadkinville, North Carolina, NanoTechLabs has extensive commercial experience in materials development, focusing on the incorporation of nanomaterials into various materials systems and products.

Based on the success of NTL’s buckypaper development and demonstration efforts in two Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs, Buckeye Composites was created to strategically focus on buckypaper manufacturing scale-up and continued application development. The National Composite Center (NCC), a non-profit organization, has partnered with NTL to accelerate the commercialization of carbon nanomembrane technology. With the support of NCC’s business incubation program and the commercial validation and track record of parent NTL, Buckeye Composites is well-positioned to transition buckypaper to market.

Buckeye Composites has chosen to locate operations at NCC in Kettering, Ohio, a 200,000 square foot facility that includes an area designed for contained handling and processing of nanomaterials, as well as a comprehensive quality control laboratory for buckypaper characterization. NTL and NCC have recently completed the design, build and installation of a 12” wide continuous buckypaper manufacturing line. NCC also offers easy access to various industrial ovens, compression molding presses, an automated precision filament winder and other composites processing equipment with which to manufacture demonstration articles for customers.

Buckeye Composites is located near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, one of the largest and most comprehensive military bases in the world and the site of the headquarters for Air Force Research Laboratories. Five of the ten research labs being created as part of a $1.6B U.S. Air Force research initiative will be located in the Dayton area. Additionally, Dayton features a large, trained manufacturing labor pool with educational and training programs in advanced materials offered by Sinclair Community College, Wright State University and the University of Dayton. An extensive composites network and growing nanotechnology industry offer unique opportunities for strategic supply chain development with raw material providers and prepregging and composite manufacturing collaborators, as well as end-users.

Buckeye Composites’ parent company NanoTechLabs has a strong focus in the research and development of materials and devices comprised of multi-walled and single walled carbon nanotubes. NTL’s proprietary technologies produce materials that offer significant improvements over current technology such as substantial weight savings, increased performance and service life, and greater flexibility. Current product development and IP is focused on: conductive elastomers for aerospace applications, non-metallic EMI shielding for electronic enclosures, lightning strike protection of composites, ionic liquids for lubricants, greases, and single phase thermofluids for extreme environments.