MITO Material Solutions has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $224,988 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on a nano-additive that doubles the interlaminar toughness of composite materials utilized in aerospace, recreation, and automotive industries.
The additive was developed in Oklahoma State University’s Helmerich Research Center in Tulsa by Dr. Ranji Vaidyanathan, who is the co-PI. This grant will help create two engineering positions at inception, and help MITO grow to a predicted 200 employees within five to seven years.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Barry Johnson, director of the NSF’s Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
As for the RV industry, “this additive would be infused into the resin used to fabricate fiberglass and composite sidewalls, front caps, tanks, possibly even some thermoplastic components subject to delamination like bumpers or showers,” said Haley Marie Keith, business development leader at MITO Material Solutions.
