Press Releases
For Immediate Release: September, 14, 2006
NANOTECH START-UP WINS PRESTIGIOUS R&D 100 AWARD
C³'s Nanotechnology Awarded "Oscars of Invention" Alongside Industry Giants Like GE
The R&D 100 Awards, dubbed the "Oscars of Invention" by the Chicago Tribune, are awarded to the 100 best inventions introduced into the U.S. marketplace each year. Competition is stiff, with over 20,000 new inventions introduced annually. Past winners include HDTV, the ATM, and the Fax Machine.
This year, C³ International, LLC, based in Atlanta, Ga, joins the list of winners with its internationally patented nano-scale advanced surface treatments. C³'s Metal Infusion Surface Treatment (MIST) was acquired from technology originally developed in Eastern Europe. Since then, C³ has worked with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), one of the most prestigious research and development laboratories in the U.S., to explore a number of applications in a variety of industries. C³'s advanced surface treatments have applied engineering applications in everything from Industrial Tools and Catalytic Filters to Fuel Cells for the hydrogen economy.
The C³ story began in 1993 when Atlanta attorney Mark Deininger traveled to Eastern Europe to explore patentable technologies for commercialization in the United States. Mr. Deininger explored many technologies while traveling to scientific centers never before visited by foreigners. His interest was piqued by what is now known as "MIST technology". After several years of negotiations, he acquired the rights from the original inventors. The development of this technology by Mr. Deininger's company and scientists from ORNL has been a passion, the results of which are now coming to fruition.
MIST technology is a method of putting any combination of 50+ desired periodic table elements into a formulation, which is then applied to non-organic materials, and heated. The result is a durable nano-thin film treatment which can create a wide variety of physical improvements to industrial tools and parts. These include much longer tool life, significant cost reduction and increased productivity, all of which make U.S. industries more competitive in the global marketplace.
C³ has commercialized its technology for treating various industrial tools and parts. C³ treated tooling and parts last anywhere from tens to hundreds of times longer. This magnitude of life extension offers Csup3; customers a new level of competitive advantage and cost savings. Current customers include Heinz Foods and Alcoa.
Industrial tools, however, do not begin to scratch the surface of the capabilities of C³'s MIST technology. Utilizing strong relationships built over several years with ORNL, Georgia Tech, and other leading research institutions, C³ is working on EPA, DOE, and DOD initiatives such as eliminating the "black smoke" emitted by trucks powered by diesel engines and making Solid Oxide Fuel Cells a cost-effective alternative energy source for the future. World-renowned scientists at ORNL feel C³ has the enabling technology to solve many of these long-standing feasibility and functionality problems. The Director of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory at ORNL, said "we have seen numerous surface treatments come and go through our facility, but none of them can match the capability and wide applicability of the MIST process."
The versatility of this nano-technology is changing the way materials science may solve many future problems. The story of C³ proves a small company, on a limited budget, can make significant contributions to the U.S industrial competitive advantage.
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