Boston Materials Corporation (Billerica, Massachusetts, USA) is an advanced lightweight material manufacturer that uses z-axis carbon fiber technology to provide higher performance and recycling solutions. The company announced on May 20 that it was completed by AccelR8 and Valo. A $8 million financing led by Ventures. This funding has accelerated the company's expansion into new electric vehicle (EV), aerospace, electronics and consumer applications. Previous supporters Clean Energy Ventures also participated in this round.
"Boston Materials is doing things that no one else can. They are using a truly scalable z-axis carbon fiber technology to improve the quality of advanced lightweight materials that use 100% recycled raw materials." Chief Executive of AccelR8 Officer Dwight Poler said. "Boston Materials is one of the only solutions we have seen that can integrate sustainable materials and actually improve performance and application range at the same time."
Boston Materials uses a patented roll-to-roll magnetic alignment process that allows the recycled carbon fiber to be oriented vertically to produce composite film and sheet products called ZRT. It is said that this process brings new z-axis thermal and electrical conductivity, stiffness and durability advantages to existing composite materials. In the end, the company stated that its products provide designers and manufacturers with a number of advantages over metals and nanomaterials, including lighter weight, lower carbon footprint, and lower production costs.
"Boston Materials delivers high-performance products at a lower cost, thereby creating a clear return on investment for customers. The team carefully designed the products to expand the existing supply chain and make z-axis carbon fiber the next generation of mass consumption. And pave the way for breakthrough metal substitutes in industrial products." Valo Ventures. "At the same time, Boston Material's products promote a circular economy by reducing reliance on virgin materials, and continue to diffuse composite materials to decarbonize the industry, thereby bringing considerable returns to the environment."
In early 2021, Boston Materials commissioned a 60-inch wide commercial production line that can produce 800,000 square meters of z-axis carbon fiber materials per year. The company plans to triple its production capacity in the next two years. The production capacity has been installed in a 37,000-square-foot production facility in Billerica, Massachusetts, as well as fully automated equipment for quality control and traceability. Boston Materials is committed to cultivating a strong team of manufacturing personnel from various industries and training them as technicians for the production of advanced composite materials to expand its manufacturing operations in the Boston area.
"Even without the end-of-life (EOL) scrap of large structures such as airplanes and wind turbine blades, the global supply chain will create nearly US$3 billion worth of carbon fiber scrap every year. For the composites industry, this is a huge environmental and economical issue. Opportunities." said Anvesh Gurijala, co-founder and CEO of Boston Materials. "Our z-axis carbon fiber products provide a high-performance export for more and more available recycled carbon fibers, thus making an important change in the composite and lightweight materials industry. Now, we have collected a group of thoughtful and influential Strong investors, they believe in us, and we are eager to use their collective resources and expertise to rapidly expand our business in new markets."
The new funds will be used to continue to expand the application range of z-axis carbon fiber products and hire more technical sales personnel, application development experts and manufacturing technicians to quickly accelerate the company's development.