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Nanoptek
Corporation Awarded U.S. Patent
Nanoptek Corporation Leases 6,050 Sq. Ft. at Mill Pond Square in
Maynard, MA
Nanoptek
Corporation Secures $4.7M in Series A Round
Department
of Energy Renews Award to Nanoptek Corp. for FY2008
Nanoptek
Corp. Reincorporates in Delaware
Department
of Energy Announces Award to Nanoptek Corp.
Clean
Energy Companies Get Seed Funding From State
Nanoptek Corp. Moves to Clock Tower Place, Maynard, Massachusetts
NASA
Awards Phase II SBIR Contract to Nanoptek Corporation
Nanoptek
Booth at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2003
Nanoptek Corporation and Scientific Systems Sales Corp. Announce Exclusive Distribution
Agreement for North America
NASA
Awards Phase 1 SBIR to Nanoptek Corporation
Avon
Products Purchases Digital PTM
CMC
Magnetics Purchases Digital PTM
Nanoptek Corporation Secures License to Polaroid Corp. Patents
Nanoptek Incorporates
Near-field
Optics Pioneer Founds NANOPTEK to Commercialize
Nano
and Near-field Optical Technology and Instrumentation
Nanoptek Corporation
Awarded U.S. Patent
Maynard, MA, March 2009- Nanoptek Corporation has
been awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,485,799 “Stress-Induced Bandgap-Shifted
Semiconductor Photoelectrolytic, Photocatalytic, Photovoltaic Surface
and Method for Making Same” for a more efficient way of making hydrogen
from water and sunlight using Nanoptek’s improved photocatalyst and
photoelectrolytic cell.
Nanoptek’s patented technology for producing
hydrogen, unlike the way most hydrogen is produced, is completely
carbon-free and renewable. Nanoptek envisions that this innovation will
promote the use of hydrogen for producing “green” electricity and even
powering fuel cell vehicles, in addition to providing hydrogen for use
as an important chemical feedstock for manufacturing, especially in
remote off-grid and off-pipeline regions in the U.S and around the
world.
Titania (titanium dioxide), when illuminated with ultraviolet light,
is a photocatalyst in that it reduces the voltage required to dissociate
water into hydrogen and oxygen. However, the scarcity of ultraviolet
light in sunlight here on earth severely limits titania’s efficiency.
Nanoptek’s innovation allows titania to absorb and be activated by more
of the light in the solar spectrum, not just ultraviolet, in a process
known as “bandgap shifting.”
Nanoptek’s scientists achieve this bandgap shift by growing titania
films onto nanostructures that are essentially very small arches.
Conceptually, these arches force each successive layer of titania
molecules to stretch in order to “line up” with the previous layer
during growth of the film. As the titania is stretched, electrons in
the titania molecules are less tightly bound, and so are more easily
excited by light with lower energy than ultraviolet light, in this case
some of the more abundant visible light. The excited electrons drive a
process known as photoelectrolysis, the end result of which is
dissociation of water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
“In the nearly seven years since this invention, we have continuously
built on and vigorously moved the technology toward commercialization,”
Nanoptek president and CEO John M. Guerra said. “This patent protection
of Nanoptek’s key technology further strengthens our commercialization
position going forward.”
The Company has seven additional patents pending, all claiming the
benefit of this issued patent.
Nanoptek Corporation (www.nanoptek.com),
a privately held Delaware C corporation founded in 2002, is developing
technology and products for producing hydrogen from water and sunlight.
Released by Nanoptek Corp.,
Maynard, MA, June 20, 2008. Nanoptek
Corporation, a company developing technology that produces hydrogen from
water and sunlight, announced today that it is moving to Mill Pond
Square, 63 Great Road, in Maynard Massachusetts.
Mill Pond Square has both the charms
of an old mill building as well as completely modern updates, including
large column-less floor expanses. It is situated on the beautiful Mill
Pond, and being at the intersection of Routes 117 and 62, it is easily
located and accessible to visitors, and provides ample adjacent parking.
John
Guerra, President and CEO, said “The new facility is a perfect fit for
this next stage in our corporate growth and identity, as it provides the
space and functionality our growing team requires to meet our ambitious
technical and business goals over the next few years.”
The lease with 63 Great Road
Partners LLC, a Massachusetts company in Concord, was brokered by The
Stubblebine Company and O’Brien Commercial. “63 Great Road Partners LLC,
our landlord, has been very accommodating and welcoming. And we are
looking forward to meeting our neighbors from the exciting R&D companies
already in the building,” said Guerra.
The new location has a large open
floor plan that will accommodate Nanoptek’s expanding R&D labs, as well
as ample room for product development and pilot manufacturing. The
facility, which faces south for best solar exposure, includes a unique
testing bay for pre-production prototypes of Nanoptek’s solar hydrogen
generator, as well as a roof deck for long term testing of prototypes.
“We especially like the fact that we
are still in Maynard, and only a few minutes walking distance from the
amenities and our friends in downtown businesses,” added Guerra.
The move is expected to be complete
in early July, 2008.
Nanoptek
Corporation Secures $4.7M in Series A Round
MAYNARD, MA--(Marketwire
- January 16, 2008). Nanoptek Corporation, a renewable energy company
that produces hydrogen directly from water using sunlight and its
proprietary photocatalyst, today announced it has closed a $4.7M Series
A equity financing round, led by The Quercus Trust, a California fund
with multiple investments in clean technology and renewable energy.
Ardour Capital Investments, LLC served as financial advisor in the
transaction. Series A
investors also included the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative (MTC) and private investors. With this investment,
Nanoptek expects to complete the development of its field-deployable
Solar Hydrogen Generator, develop pilot manufacturing capability, and
install the first pilot plant for producing carbon-free hydrogen.
Most hydrogen today is
produced by steam methane reformation (SMR) of natural gas feedstock. In
addition to consuming natural gas, the SMR process releases carbon
dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Some hydrogen is
produced by electrolysis of water, but this too results in carbon
dioxide production unless the electricity used is from wind or solar.
Nanoptek’s Solar
Hydrogen Generator (SHG) produces hydrogen directly from water using
only sunlight and its proprietary photocatalyst in a process known as
photoelectrochemical (PEC) water dissociation, or photolysis. No carbon
dioxide is produced. Nanoptek has improved the PEC process by
developing a titania photocatalyst that absorbs significantly more
sunlight than normal titania. Nanoptek’s patent pending technology
achieves this with nano-structures that stress the titania. Developed
over 5 years with funding from NASA, DOE Office of Basic Energy
Sciences, and a SEED loan from MTC through the Renewable Energy Trust
totaling over $1.3M, this “bandgap engineering” results in more
efficient and lower-cost production of hydrogen from sunlight.
Nanoptek expects to sell
the carbon-free locally produced hydrogen to customers with high value
industrial applications, and plans to also make it available for
applications including transportation, backup power, “green”
electricity for municipalities, and off-grid off-pipe power generation.
About Nanoptek Corporation
Nanoptek Corporation, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in
Maynard, Massachusetts, is a renewable energy company developing
technology to reduce global warming by addressing markets for
carbon-free, low-cost, locally produced hydrogen. The Company’s website
is
www.nanoptek.com.
Contact
John M. Guerra
President and CEO
(978) 461-0472
jguerra@nanoptek.com
Department of Energy Renews Award to Nanoptek Corp. for FY2008.
(Released by Nanoptek Corp., June 18, 2007, Maynard,
MA.). Nanoptek Corp. learned today that the Office of Basic
Energy Sciences, Dept. of Energy, has renewed funding for FY 2008.
Renewal is based on acceptance by the D.O.E. of Nanoptek's annual technical
progress and reporting.
Nanoptek Reincorporates
in Delaware
(Released by Nanoptek Corp., April 19, 2007. Maynard, MA.).
Nanoptek Corp., formerly incorporated in Massachusetts on Sept. 9, 2002,
has reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in preparation for a Series
A fundraising.
Department of Energy Announces Award to Nanoptek Corp.
(Released by Nanoptek Corp., May 25, 2005, Maynard, MA.).
Nanoptek Corporation announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE)
has chosen the Massachusetts corporation to perform basic research on
its proprietary nano-structured titania thin film photocatalysts.
The research funding will begin in FY2005, with a duration of three
years.
The award is one of 70 research and development
projects announced today by Secretary
of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. The awards, totaling $64 million,
are aimed at making hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refueling stations
available, practical and affordable for American consumers by 2020.
The projects that were selected focus on fundamental science and enable
revolutionary breakthroughs in hydrogen production, and storage in addition
to new fuel cell technologies. Participants in the projects include
more than 50 research organizations in 25 states.
“Since President Bush first laid out his
vision for a hydrogen economy, we’ve witnessed incredible innovation
and tremendous advancement,” Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said.
“We hope that through our ingenuity, investment and effort, hydrogen
vehicles will someday be as commonplace as the cars we drive today.”
John M. Guerra, President and CEO of Nanoptek, said, "This award
is very important to Nanoptek, as it will enable new research as well
as accelerate our ongoing research to improve the efficiency of our
unique photocatalyst, thereby helping us to achieve our product and
business goals. We are also pleased that Nanoptek was the only
industry company selected for an award; all the other 69 awards went
to prestigious government research labs and universities."
The photocatalyst that Nanoptek is developing is used to split water
into hydrogen fuel and oxygen, using only sunlight. By coating
a thin film of titania semiconductor onto a plastic nano-structured
surface, the film is changed at the nano-level such that it absorbs
more of the visible sunlight than it otherwise would, for very good
efficiency in converting sunlight into hydrogen.
Nanoptek has developed a manufacturing process that is compatible with
today's vast CD/DVD manufacturing infrastructure, so that the photocatalyst
can be made abundantly and cheaply. The solar hydrogen generators
that will use Nanoptek's photocatalyst will supply hydrogen fuel on-site
for use in home heating, internal combustion vehicles, and fuel cell
vehicles. On-site production reduces or eliminates transport and
storage issues. When Nanoptek's solar hydrogen generators are
coupled with fuel cells from other companies, clean electrical energy
is produced, with the only byproduct being clean water.
Nanoptek Corp. is a privately-held Massachusetts C corporation currently
funded with a NASA Phase II SBIR award, in addition to SEED funding
from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. Nanoptek is located
at 8 Clock Tower Place, Suite 120, Maynard, MA. 01754.
Clean Energy Companies Get Seed Funding From State
Follow the link above to read the news release.
Nanoptek Corp. Moves to Clock Tower Place in Maynard, Massachusetts
Nanoptek Corporation moved into 8 Clock Tower Place, Suite 120, in
Maynard, Massachusetts on March 1, 2004 (http://www.clocktowerplace.com/).
The larger and newly refurbished facility provides Nanoptek the space
necessary for completing the Phase II SBIR contract with NASA.
Clock Tower Place has a rich manufacturing and R&D history dating
back to 1846, with Building 8 constructed in 1870. It has been
the home to Raytheon and Digital Equipment Corporation, where the first
minicomputers were developed and manufactured, and now is home to Monster.com
as well as over 100 other
companies in 1.1 million square feet. Maynard is a richly diverse town
with numerous pubs (the Sit 'n Bull features live music by many well-known
artists, for example) and restaurants, shops, Commonwealth Ballet, and
a movie theater, with easy access to major highways (Rt. 2 and Rt. 495),
and proximity to Logan and Worcester Airports. A shuttle runs
regularly from Clock Tower Place to the West Acton Train Station, providing
public transportation to Cambridge and Boston. In addition to
its own rich manufacturing history, Maynard is proximal to historic
Concord and Lexington, and is 30 minutes from Mt. Wachusett for excellent
skiing.
NASA
Awards Phase II SBIR Contract to Nanoptek Corporation.
(Released by Nanoptek Corp., Nov. 28, 2003,
Concord, MA.). N.A.S.A. (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) has awarded Nanoptek Corporation a Phase II S.B.I.R.
(Small Business Innovative Research) contract to continue development
of their clean hydrogen fuel generation technology, the company announced
today. Only companies who successfully completed an earlier Phase
I contract were eligible to compete for the Phase II award. The value
of the contract is $600,000 and the project is expected to require two
years.
Nanoptek’s hydrogen generation technology evolves
hydrogen gas from water using only sunlight and their proprietary photolytic
electrodes. Their unique technology promises higher efficiency,
longer lifetime, and lower cost than competing technologies for hydrogen
generation. Further, Nanoptek’s “point-of-use” hydrogen generation
reduces the problems of hydrogen transport and storage.
The goal is to produce clean, abundant, and
low cost hydrogen fuel to supply hydrogen cars using internal combustion
engines. Major automotive companies have shown near-production-ready
versions of such hydrogen cars, with some planning production models
as early as 2005.
Water purification is another important application,
where Nanoptek’s technology could evolve hydrogen from contaminated
water to fuel others’ commercially available fuel cells. Fuel
cells create electricity by recombining hydrogen with oxygen, producing
clean water as a by-product. Such systems could be located anywhere
in the world where there is sunlight and water, for production of both
clean electricity and clean water.
John Guerra, President and C.E.O. of Nanoptek,
said, “We’re extremely excited and proud that N.A.S.A. has chosen us
as one of only 145 companies nation-wide for a Phase II award.
This is a strong indicator of the need for and strengths of our technology,
for both space and ground-based applications. N.A.S.A.’s support
will help us to play a significant, and hopefully even enabling, role
in making the Hydrogen Economy happen sooner rather than later.”
Nanoptek Corporation (www.nanoptek.com) is
a privately held technology company located in Concord MA. Inquiries
can be directed to
JGuerra@nanoptek.com.
Nanoptek
Booth at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2003
Nanoptek Corporation displayed their Digital Photon Tunneling Microscope™
as well as their Trident™ hand-held backscattered photon tunneling microscope
at the Microscopy and Microanalysis show in San Antonio, Texas, this
August. Although attendance was reportedly not as high as in recent
years, the traffic at the Nanoptek booth was robust. Demonstrations
of the PTM were pre-arranged with attendee's samples, and were scheduled
hourly over the week-long exhibit. Despite the over 100°
weather, San Antonio provided a beautiful, historic, and friendly venue
for the show.
Nanoptek
Corporation and Scientific Systems Sales Corp. Announce Exclusive Distribution
Agreement for North America
(February, 2003) Nanoptek Corporation
and Scientific Systems Sales Corp. (SSSC) announced today that they
have signed a contract designating SSSC as the exclusive distributor
for Nanoptek’s photon tunneling products in North America.
John Guerra, President
and CEO of Nanoptek, said, “I’m excited to have SSSC
as our exclusive North American distributor. Having purchased
products from them in the past, I know firsthand their commitment and
dedication to the customer, integrity, and technical excellence.
I wanted a distributor for our products that shared Nanoptek’s
values and dedication to the customer. SSSC’s product lines
are known for their quality, value, and cutting-edge technology, and
I am proud to have our PTM along side them.”
Arthur Posner, President of SSSC, said "We were
convinced, after seeing the PTM for the first time, that this represents
a significant breakthrough in surface characterization."
SSSC’s principals
include Matec Instruments (Scanning Acoustic Microscope), Princeton
Gamma-Tech (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis and Imaging Systems), Quesant
(Atomic Force Microscopes), SensIR (FT-IR Microscopes), and Witec Instruments
Corp. (Scanning Near Field Optical Microscope (SNOM) and Confocal Raman
Microscopes). With the addition of Nanoptek’s photon tunneling
microscope, customer’s have a one-stop shop at SSSC for their surface
analysis needs.
Nanoptek Corporation is
a privately held Massachusetts corporation developing applications of
their nano and near-field optical technology for the microscopy and
energy markets.
Scientific Systems Sales
Corp. is a privately held Massachusetts corporation with over 40 years
of dedication to serving and advancing the microscopy and materials
characterization community. SSSC takes pride in professionalism
and commitment to total customer satisfaction. Their main office is
located in Great Barrington, MA and they can be reached at 413-528-8030
or at sssc@bcn.net.
NASA
Awards Phase 1 SBIR to Nanoptek Corporation
(December, 2002) NANOPTEK Corporation is one of only 270 companies
selected for a 2002 Phase I contract under NASA's Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program. NASA received 2,283 SBIR and STTR proposals
submitted by small, high technology businesses from 48 states and the
District of Columbia.
NANOPTEK Corporation's winning proposal, "Stress-induced bandgap-shifted
titania photocatalyst for hydrogen generation," involves
NANOPTEKs' proprietary (patent pending) nano-engineered titania optics in
a novel approach for hydrogen generation from light and water.
John M. Guerra, president and chief executive of Nanoptek Corporation,
said "We are very proud and excited to have won this contract from
NASA. The SBIR funding will allow us to pursue a technology that
we believe will be important to the future growth of our business, but
more importantly will ultimately be one of the solutions to the global
need for clean energy from hydrogen, as well as an enabling technology
for extended manned spaceflight."
SBIR goals are to stimulate technical innovation, increase the use
of small business in meeting federal research and development needs,
and increase private sector commercialization of results of federally
funded research.
The nine NASA field centers reviewed proposals for technical merit
and feasibility and relevance to NASA research and technology requirements.
Companies that successfully complete Phase I activities are eligible
to compete for Phase II selection the following year. The Phase
II award allows for a two-year, fixed-price contract in the amount up
to $600,000.
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program Management Office is located at the Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, with executive oversight by NASA's
Office of Aerospace Technology, NASA Headquarters, Washington DC.
Nanoptek Corporation is located in Concord, MA.
Avon
Products Purchases Digital PTM
(November, 2002) NANOPTEK Corporation is pleased to announce
that it has delivered a Digital Photon Tunneling Microscope upgrade
to Avon Products Corporation in Suffern, NY.
John M. Guerra, President and CEO of NANOPTEK, said "With our
sale of a PTM to CMC Magnetics last month, this delivery to Avon illustrates
the breadth of application of our PTM. Dr. Gopi Menon, a respected
researcher in dermatology, purchased the PTM based on results obtained
with the older analog version. The new Digital PTM offers superior
calibration and metrology, with a full array of image processing functions."
CMC
Magnetics Purchases Digital PTM
(October, 2002) NANOPTEK Corporation is pleased to announce
that it has delivered a Digital Photon Tunneling Microscope upgrade
to CMC Magnetics Corporation in Taiwan, R.O.C.
John M. Guerra, President and CEO of NANOPTEK, said "CMC Magnetics
Corporation is one of the largest manufacturers of CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R,
and DVD-RW optical media in the world. Their quality, innovation,
and manufacturing strengths are renowned. We are honored that
they chose our PTM."
Dr. Donyau Chang, Vice President of Engineering at CMC Magnetics, was
impressed with a demonstration of the PTM that he was given. After further
evaluation of samples from CMC with the PTM, the order was placed.
CMC Magnetics Corporation is one of the world's largest optical disc
manufacturers. CMC's DVD+RW media has recently been certified
by Philips, making CMC the first among the Taiwanese manufacturers.
CMC will use the PTM to inspect masters, stampers, substrates, and
coatings.
Nanoptek
Corporation Secures License to Polaroid Corp. Patents
(October, 2002) Nanoptek Corporation announces that it
has secured license to 9 patents belonging to Polaroid Corp. Together,
the patents comprise 248 broad and deep claims to nano-optic and near-field
optical inventions, including the photon tunneling microscope, flexible
near-field transducer probes, the Trident dark-field photon tunneling
microscope, near-field lithography, phase-shifted evanescent field microscope,
diffractive near-field optics, and near-field flying height metrology.
The scope of the license includes international patents.
John M. Guerra, President and CEO of Nanoptek Corporation, said, "These
important patents, together with our proprietary know-how and patents
pending, provide Nanoptek Corporation with a strong technology platform
and product pipeline to fuel our growth well into the next decade and
beyond."
Nanoptek Incorporates
(September, 2002) Nanoptek announces that it has incorporated
under the laws of Massachusetts as Nanoptek Corporation, Concord, MA,
on Sept. 9, 2002.
Near-field
Optics Pioneer Founds NANOPTEK to Commercialize
Nano
and Near-field Optical Technology and Instrumentation
(June, 2002) John M. Guerra, P.E., the inventor of photon
tunneling microscopy (PTM) and other near-field optical technology,
has founded NANOPTEK in Concord, Massachusetts (USA), to develop and
commercialize nano- and near-field optical technology and instrumentation.
Guerra, who is CEO and President, is joined by Dr. Dmitri Vezenov, also
an innovator in near-field and nano-optic technology. Dr. Vezenov
is Vice President of Technology. Guerra and Vezenov first joined
forces while at Polaroid Corporation, and continued their work in near-field
optical data storage and microscopy as the "East Coast" near-field
lab of Calimetrics, Inc., an R&D technology startup in California.
NANOPTEK's "out of the box" product family includes an all-new
Digital PTM, the Trident PTM for rougher industrial surfaces, NanOptic
nano-optic substrate engineering samples, and NFNow! rigorous near-field
optical modeling software.
NANOPTEK also provides PTM and modeling services, and consulting in
near-field and nano-optics for such near-field applications as lithography,
optical disc mastering, and bio-assay.
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