NuForm Materials leverages SBIR’s and the entrepreneurial ecosystem to launch company
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 03:55PM 
NuForm Materials announced this week that they have received matching funds from the State of Kentucky to match a recent SBIR Phase 2 award from the National Science Foundation. NuForm Materials is based in Sadieville, KY and was founded in 2007 by Tom Robl, a researcher from the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. His team developed techniques for processing fly ash as part of a DOE funded project. When the funding ended, Dr. Robl formed NuForm Materials, licensed the technology from UK and brought on Brock Marrs as VP of Research.
Once the company was formed, they submitted a SBIR Phase 1 proposal to the National Science Foundation for a proof of concept study using ceramics the company recycles from discarded fly ash as an additive in Aluminum metal matrix composites. They hit a home run on their first at bat, defying the 15% odds of winning a phase1 SBIR. The award was made in December of 2007 and work began in January 2008. The state of Kentucky matches Phase 1 SBIRs 100% so NuForm Material was able to turn their $100k SBIR into $200k. These matching funds in turn, qualified them to apply for Phase 1B from NSF which added another $25k and extended the project from 6 to 12 months.
During the Phase 1 period, they determined that their initial fabrication method, stir casting, was going to be difficult but the timing and extra funding made it possible for them to shift to an alternative process called powder metallurgy which ultimately proved successful. They teamed up with ECKA Granules of America, one of North America’s largest suppliers of aluminum powders, for their proof of concept studies. A Phase 2 proposal was submitted in January 2009 and awarded in July 2009. The timing of matching funds provided by the State of Kentucky got them through the “SBIR Funding Gap” between January and July.
The company was founded on core technology covered by two patents awarded to the University of Kentucky. This technology was licensed to the company and the SBIR funding has led to additional patents filed by the company. NuForm Materials hopes to have prototype testing completed by the end of the Phase 2 project. The goal is to sell ceramics, first to the Aluminum Metal Matrix market and then possibly to the Polymer Composites market. The raw material comes from coal fired power plants and the acceptance of the beneficiation process will depend in part on if the EPA decides to rule fly ash as a hazardous waste. The process is mobile in that the technology will fit on a trailer flatbed and can be driven to a location. This could lead to the construction of a more permanent production facility at or near the power plant with the product being distributed regionally.
By that time, NuForm Materials will need to raise equity capital. They have already anticipated this and have retained the consulting services of Chicago based Native Capital Investment who is working closely with them on their financials and their business plan so that when the time comes, they will be ready.
Brock Marrs said that NuForm Materials attended one of the Energy Boot Camps hosted by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and conducted by the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth. “It was perfect time for us,” Marrs said. “We were a couple of engineers with no background in finance and commercialization of technology.” For most SBIR Phase 2’s the commercialization plan is a vital part of the proposal. Marrs said their Phase 2 probably would not have been accepted had it not been for what they learned at the Boot Camp.
Asked if he was glad he made the jump from researcher to entrepreneur, Marrs said that although it’s been up and down, he’s glad he took the plunge.
Contact:
Brock.marrs@nuformmaterials.com
Phone - 859-489-3341
Reader Comments (1)
Congratulations to NuForm. Best of Luck!!