June 5, 2008&#8212Unidym, Inc., a manufacturer of carbon nanotubes, and Battelle, a non-profit independent research and development organization, have formed an alliance focused on multi-functional nanocomposites for aerospace and transportation applications. Under the alliance the companies will collaborate with aerospace and automotive companies, and their composite materials suppliers that require carbon nanotube formulated coatings, sealants, adhesives and load-bearing composites.

“Unidym and Battelle have both been approached by customers with strong interests in seeing carbon nanotubes introduced into composite materials,” noted Art Swift, Unidym’s president and CEO. “For some time now we have supplied sample quantities of nanotubes to a variety of composite materials suppliers and their industrial customers. By aligning with Battelle, we are now able to leverage each other’s complementary strengths for the benefit of our customers.”

“Battelle and Unidym have capabilities to advance the development and commercialization of high performance composite materials,” said Carl Kohrt, Battelle’s president and CEO. “We have performed years of research into various applications of carbon nanotubes. Combining our experience with Unidym’s materials manufacturing capabilities and foundational patent portfolio provides our clients with an opportunity to accelerate the use of carbon nanotubes in nanocomposite material formulation and fabrication.”

The companies have combined resources in this way to jointly approach manufacturers and material suppliers in order to discuss the application of current research, gather specific customer requirements for high performance composite materials and present a licensing program for their intellectual property portfolios. Both companies have seen significant industrial interest in applications such as high performance carbon nanotube enhanced carbon fiber composites, carbon nanotube based thermoplastic nanocomposites that can be injection molded, and thermoset nanocomposites that can be fabricated with various resin transfer molding (RTM) processes and through the compression molding of nanostructured sheet molding compound (SMC) formulations.

Unidym is a leader in the manufacture and application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a novel material with extraordinary electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Unidym provides bulk materials, CNT-enabled products, and intellectual property to a wide range of customers and business partners. As a result of its recent merger with CNI, Unidym possesses a foundational patent portfolio that covers nearly every aspect of CNT manufacturing and processing as well as multiple product applications.

Unidym is focused on the electronics industry where its initial products include transparent electrodes for touch screens, flat panel displays, solar cells, and solid state lighting; electrodes for fuel cells; and thin film transistors for printable electronics. Unidym is also pursuing an aggressive, cross-industry partnership strategy to capture value from the wide ranging uses of CNTs. Unidym’s licensing program, technical expertise and manufacturing facilities can enable partners to rapidly develop CNT solutions for their specific applications.

Earlier this year, Unidym entered into a joint development agreement with Nippon Kayaku, a Japanese chemical company, to integrate Unidym’s printable transparent electrodes into Nippon Kayaku’s thin film solar cells.