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 (Westlake Village, Calif., U.S.) and  (Cal Nano, Cerritos, Calif., U.S.) have formed a strategic partnership for manufacturing ultra-dense high-temperature composites. The main goal is to scale up and commercialize field-assisted sintering technology (FAST) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) for high-temperature and ultra high-temperature (UHT) composites critical to aviation and defense applications.

MATECH brings to the alliance its patented and patent-pending ultra high-density (UHD) carbon-carbon (C/C) composites, C/SiC CMC and SiC/SiC CMC (and related materials). Cal Nano leverages its FAST/SPS infrastructure, expertise and capabilities. Combining technological advances with manufacturing prowess is the foundation of this collaboration and strategic partnership. Applications for MATECH’s FAST SiC CMC and UHD C/C composites include missile propulsion components, leading edges, fins, nose-tips, heat shields, exhaust nozzles, aircraft brakes and combustors.

“Low manufacturing readiness levels and high cost are the biggest barriers to large-scale commercialization of these composite technologies. MATECH and CalNano intend to fix that,” says MATECH founder Ed Pope.

Eric Eyerman, CEO of Cal Nano, adds that expanding throughput and lowering production cost are critical to the wide-spread industrialization of FAST/SPS processing for all materials, especially high-temperature composites.

This new strategic partnership focuses on FAST/SPS densification of continuous fiber-reinforced C/C, C/SiC and SiC/SiC composites, all parts of the IP invented and secured by MATECH. Cal Nano’s experience in FAST/SPS processing and growing pilot manufacturing capabilities are key to the rapid commercialization and insertion of these technologies into full production hardware.