TECHNOLOGY
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 startup lands $1 million to grow domestic graphite production
Halo Materials is one of nine New Mexico companies sharing $7.5 million in state grants
Graphite powers modern life 鈥� cell phones, electric vehicles, drones, the data centers behind them 鈥� yet the United States imports nearly all of it from overseas.
An sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based startup is racing to close that gap, propelled by a $1 million research and development grant.
The startup was one of nine New Mexico companies that received a share of the $7.5 million Advanced Energy Award, administered by the state Economic Development Department鈥檚 Technology and Innovation Office.
The funding granted to Halo will support the expansion of its current laboratory space, allowing the startup to increase graphite production for companies building lithium-ion-based batteries and accelerate research, said Halo Materials CEO Darren Hau.
鈥淚f we want to have some of these advanced energy technologies, we really need to build a diversified but cost-competitive source of graphite,鈥� Hau said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what Halo Materials exists to do.鈥�
Halo, one of the nearly half-dozen startups working with sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based Roadrunner Venture Studios, currently produces graphite on a lab scale, yielding gram-level quantities, said Halo Materials Chief Technology Officer Olaf Conrad.
As one of the nation鈥檚 premier natural gas producers, New Mexico serves as a vital hub for synthesis and manufacturing of graphite, Conrad said. But the funding will help expand the startup鈥檚 manufacturing efforts on a pilot scale, soon progressing to kilograms and later tons.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just really pleased to be able to work with the state to bring new jobs and to expand our lab capabilities here in sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� Hau said.
Of the remaining eight grant recipients, four received funding for R&D work: Molten Salt Solutions with $900,000, Surface Transfer with $650,000, Liberty Fusion with $625,000 and GridFlow with $490,000.
Funding for pilot projects was granted to the remaining four recipients, including Circularity Fuels ($1 million), Convective Technology Company ($960,000), Airloom Energy ($925,000) and Firescape ($900,000).
The grants will 鈥渉elp move the frontiers of energy technology forward and strengthen New Mexico鈥檚 position as a destination for advanced energy innovation,鈥� said Nora Meyers Sackett, director of the Technology and Innovation Office.
Keelin Fisher is a business reporter for the Journal. You can reach her at kfisher@abqjournal.com.
