QuantumSphere Awarded Key U.S. Patent for Automated, Scalable, and Environmentally Safe Nanomaterials Manufacturing Process

Leading manufacturing company ramps production of advanced catalyst materials to enhance performance and lower cost for battery and clean-energy applications

QuantumSphere, Inc., a leading manufacturer of nano metals and alloys for applications in renewable energy, portable power, defense, electronics and other markets, announced today that it was awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,282,167 for its QSI-Nano® Gas Phase Condensation (GPC) process, a manufacturing method for the production of advanced nanomaterials. By producing ultrapure, highly uniform metals and alloys less than 50 nanometers in size, the company’s manufacturing technology is leveraging unique physical characteristics such as high surface area to cut costs and enable dramatic improvements in battery and fuel cell electrode performance and high-rate, on-demand hydrogen generation.

QuantumSphere’s “Method and Apparatus for Forming Nanoparticles,” or QSI-Nano GPC process, allows for volume production of highly active catalyst materials that improve electrode performance in batteries, fuel cells, and on-board production of hydrogen through electrolysis for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The nanomaterials produced by the company serve in catalytic, conductive, magnetic and antimicrobial processes for a wide range of applications. The automated, scalable, and environmentally safe manufacturing process is the first in the industry at making ultrapure, highly uniform and narrow size distribution particles without the use or production of hazardous chemicals or gasses.

“In our experience, other methods for making nanomaterials to such exacting measurements proved too costly, too labor intensive, too inconsistent or unsafe,” said Kevin Maloney, President, CEO and co-founder of QuantumSphere. “The key to our company’s patented process is the ability to make commercial volumes of nano metals and alloys in a fully automated and scalable manner while maintaining size and purity. This manufacturing process has been perfected over five years to the point where it now yields several kilograms of materials per reactor, per day, in a manner that is safe to employees and the environment. This ability enables us to supply multiple mainstream industries with nano metals and alloys at low cost. The QSI-Nano GPC process will be instrumental in fulfilling our company’s vision of enabling cleaner renewable energy sources for our future.”

The QSI-Nano GPC process is computer controlled and fully automated which allows continuous production of high quality materials and enables a significant reduction in costs for the production of QSI-Nano Iron, Silver, Copper, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, and other nano metals and alloys. The company will bring three additional reactors online in January 2008, with a total production capacity of more than 500 kilograms per month.

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