Today's announcement of a licensing agreement between the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Carbon Designs, Inc. (CDI) would appear to be a sign that the commercial production of carbon nanotubes is close at hand.
The deal, one of the largest technology transfers at Los Alamos, would see CDI initially invest $2 million. The joint effort would develop fibers expected that would be many times stronger than any current engineering materials. Of course the deal has far reaching implacations. The direct result of the aggreement could see mass production of carbon nanotubes for a future space elevator. Dr. Brad Edwards the President of CDI can be characterized as the modern father of the space elevator concept.
Commenting on today's announcement and his past research on the space elevator concept Edwards said "Part of that experience led me to researching all the necessary components and attempting to source some of the strongest materials ever produced. The super-strength materials I needed for that project do not yet exist, but what I found were very bright scientists at some of the top science institutions in the world that had created something of tremendous real value."
Leave a comment