Dec 16 2009
SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc. (SWeNT), a leading manufacturer of single-wall and specialty multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT), has been awarded two prestigious grants from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).
The first is an OARS (Oklahoma Applied Research Support) grant. The topic is "Next Generation LED Lighting with CNT Printed Electrodes." SWeNT will use the OCAST grants to develop a new generation of single-walled carbon nanotubes with higher electrical conductivity and transparency than is currently available commercially.
"Improved nanotubes developed under the OARS grant will enable printed LED lighting products that consume one third the energy of fluorescent bulbs," explains David Arthur, SWeNT CEO. "Furthermore, the carbon nanotubes we develop for LED lighting will also be used in a wide range of other pioneering applications including photovoltaics, super-capacitors, batteries and displays."
SWeNT also received funds to engage three interns under the Faculty and Student Intern Partnership program, in response to SWeNT's proposal for "Undergraduate Internships in Advanced Nanotechnology. "This grant will allow these interns to gain real-world research experience helping to develop innovative advanced materials."
"OCAST's support for our employment of interns to assist us in new technology development will help us on the OARS activity as well as other research activities we have planned," says Arthur. "Both SWeNT and the student interns will have much to gain from this program."
OCAST is a state agency established to foster innovation in existing and developing businesses in Oklahoma.
"We're very pleased with and grateful for this continued support from our state represented by these two grants. SWeNT would not be a leading carbon nanotubes producer today without OCAST support," Arthur explains.