For decades, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have attracted worldwide research interest due to their unique physical properties and a wide range of applications in numerous fields—including energy, electronics, and biomedical applications. Unfortunately, despite being deemed a game-changing nanomaterial set to revolutionize the field of material science, they are still not used at large and have not yet been widely adopted in the industry. Los Angeles-based Epic Advanced Materials is set to change this industry narrative forever.

Most manufacturers have struggled to devise optimal BNNT synthesis processes, which has led to inconsistent, low-yield, and inferior quality products. This lack of optimization of synthesis has resulted in exorbitant material costs, and lack of industry acceptance. Epic Advanced Materials is developing a new and patented synthesis process to deliver BNNT’s in greater volume and at a much lower cost than it is available today. “We wish to supercharge the application and wide access to nanomaterials. Our patented machines and analytics are focused on building a nano eco-system of users that can turn products into transformative social and economic value,” says Rodney Sappington, CEO of Epic Advanced Materials. The company is capitalizing on its AI-driven state-of-the-art synthesis process that is being developed to produce the highest quality of BNNT’s while maintaining unwavering consistency. By doing so, Epic Advanced Materials is also manufacturing materials that do not suffer from metal catalyst contamination, structural defects, or inefficient reactant conversion.

The synthesis process is extremely scalable, allowing high product yields of double-walled and multi-walled BNNTs with high material integrity. Moreover, in an industry where concerns about product purity frequently take center stage, Epic Advanced Materials’ makes sure they are a step ahead of their competitors on that front. Unlike most BNNT manufacturers opting for BNNT synthesis in a low-pressure environment, Epic Advanced Materials always functions in an inductively coupled high-pressure plasma setting that allows them to produce BNNTs with far higher yield and purity.

Yet the question remains: how do they maintain the high quality with pitch-perfect consistency throughout every batch? Well, it is the company’s proprietary AI-driven process optimization platform that ensures the consistent quality of its nanomaterial products. Powered by machine learning and computer vision applications, the platform expedites laboratory-proven, high-sensitivity synthesis processes that help manufacturers explore the vast parameter spaces common in nanomaterial synthesis and scale its adoption across manifold industries. All the way from the mixing stage to raw material production, the company assists nanomaterial manufacturers in optimizing their end-to-end manufacturing processes—all with a data-driven, analytical approach. With the first-of-its-kind material science platform, the company aims to create a virtual environment that can simulate the manufacturing processes, recommend production improvements, and enhance quality assurance for produced materials. In addition, the company is using ML-based algorithms tuned to additive manufacturing to test and apply BNNT’s to other materials. With the automation and informatics approach, EPIC is able to produce thermal resilient, bio-friendly BNNT’s that can be applied in additive manufacturing, hypersonics, fuel cell development, and vaccine manufacturing, among other uses.

As pioneers of the next generation of advanced material technologies, Epic Advanced Materials is keen on swiftly industrializing its solution and is seeking strategic partners that will join forces with EPIC. “We are looking for partners who can embed our technology into their customer and market bases and endorse our vision of bringing nanotechnology to the masses for greatest economic and social impact,” concludes Sappington.