Date: Nov 20, 2014 Author: Jean Paul Allain Source: Purdue (
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Jean Paul Allain, founder of Energy Driven Technologies LLC, works in his laboratory on a process that fabricates materials one atom at a time without chemicals or high temperatures. Energy Driven Technologies is one of more than 20 startups launched in fiscal year 2014 from Purdue University innovations. (Purdue Research Foundation photo)
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - An official of a materials manufacturing firm based on a Purdue University innovation says his company's technology could lower the manufacturing costs and enhance the functionality of materials used in diverse industrial sectors.
Jean Paul Allain, founder of Energy Driven Technologies LLC, said traditional processes used to fabricate and modify materials for high-tech systems and devices are expensive.
"The problem is these processes require high temperatures and complex chemicals that must be combined. The processes make up one of the highest costs to high-tech device manufacturers," said Allain, who also is an associate professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Also, as the size of these structures is shrinking, the processes to make the materials in that size and scale become more costly."
Energy Driven Technologies has developed thin-film coating technology that can fabricate and modify any type of material without using complex chemicals or high-temperature processes. The technology was developed while Allain was an adjunct associate professor in Purdue's School of Nuclear Engineering.
"Traditional processes to mix and fabricate metals require that manufacturers contend with the chemistry of different elements. Manufacturers want to combine the right elements together to obtain the materials to meet the required specs," he said. "Our technology overcomes that requirement because we have the technology to fabricate and manufacture materials one atom at a time."
Allain said Energy Driven Technologies uses ion beams to collect atoms from a material's surface, and then rearranges them into other shapes or combinations depending on the material's function.
"It's a scalable process that works beyond just small samples of materials in a laboratory," he said. "Energy Driven Technologies can compete with any of the current technology in terms of high-volume manufacturing."
Allain said the company is able to cut manufacturing costs by an estimated 20 to 30 percent.
"These estimates are founded on basic technology and on the processes we can actually replace," he said. "The savings may vary depending on the application. We can modify any type of material including metals, ceramics and semi-conductors. This means we can reach diverse industrial sectors such as energy, biomedical devices and even consumer goods."
Allain said Energy Driven Technologies also cuts costs by inducing multiple functions into a material using a single process.
"Traditional biological coating on most commercial types of health care biomaterial devices brings just one particular function: making the devices biocompatible so they interact with the human body correctly," he said. "We can provide this biocompatibility function, but there may be another function needed for the application. Our process of building materials allows us to do this."
Allain said the company is looking for a partner to lead the business aspect of the company.
"Investments to put together a process reactor to develop this technology would be in the range of $2 million. To reach that level of investment, we need a savvy leader who will be able to share the idea behind the technology," he said. "Once a CEO is established, Energy Driven Technologies will establish headquarters in the EnterpriseWorks incubator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's research park."
The technology has been licensed to Energy Driven Technologies through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. More than 20 startups based on Purdue intellectual property were launched in the 2014 fiscal year. A video about Energy Driven Technologies is available at http://youtu.be/jBvMAEocMUM.
For information on other Purdue intellectual property ready for licensing and commercialization, visit http://otc-prf.org. For more information about available leadership positions, investing in a Purdue startup or licensing a Purdue innovation, visit http://www.purduefoundry.com.
About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization
The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org
Purdue Research Foundation contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Source: Jean Paul Allain, 765-464-9036, allain@editekk.com
