This Innovation Corps project proposed a novel palladium-supported on porous carbon catalysts (PCC). PCCs account for approximately 1/3rd of the catalysts used in the $4.7 billion/year petrochemicals market. An innovative new PCC has been developed under a previous NSF award. Better utilization of expensive palladium coupled to improvements in the carbon support provide the foundation for decreases in the cost and enhancements in the performance of these key catalysts. The proposed program will evaluate the industry relevant properties of the catalysts. Preliminary market analysis and cost estimates of potential industry targets indicate that the cheaper cost and improved properties of this catalyst, coupled to low startup costs, excellent scalability, and potential for further catalyst upgrades, provide the basis for founding a competitive start up catalysis company. This hypothesis will be tested by the team to enable a Go/No Go decision to be made and to identify and develop the appropriate business plan.

The project will have (4) major broader impacts: (1) lower costs and improved energy and materials efficiency in a significant fraction of the petrochemical and fine chemical industries. (2) the materials and methods developed will provide the foundation for significant improvements in automobile catalytic converters, decreasing cost and improving air quality, and in energy storage and utilization (3) develop skills in the graduate student and faculty member participating in transitioning pure and applied research from the laboratory into the market place (4) result in sharing of the curriculum content with other potential entrepreneurs within the institution.

Project Report

This I-Corps grant was to determine if there was a viable market for the palladium supported on porous carbon catalyst that had been develped by the team at The University of Alabama. And, if a viable market existed, to determine how the product might best be brought to market. During the course of the grant a number of test reactions of interest to industry were carried out that showed the University of Alabama catalyst was superior to commercial catalysts tested for the same reaction. The University of Alabama catalyst was found to be as much as sixty times more efficient for a given amount of platinum than commercial catalysts tested. From interviews with a wide range of potential customers it was determined that there was interest in the market place in a new catalyst with better properties than those of existing catalysts. These interviews also gave an overview of the market for palladium on carbon catalysts. The market was broken into a number of different customer segments with somewhat different needs. Large manufacturers placed a premium on selectivity and activity coupled to high throughput. Smaller manufacturers required both selectivity and activity, but did not place the same emphasis on throughput. The interviews indicated the existence of significant barriers to a new company bringing a new product into the market place. These included that large volume customers were very risk averse leading to no or only very slow turnover of suppliers, that there were a number of large, entrenched competitors, and that a new supplier in the market place would require significant time to establish credibility. A number of business models were studied for how the product could be brought into the market, including manufacturing on small scale and partnering with existing companies. Other activities in the project included the filing of a patent on the palladium on carbon catalyst and the founding of ThruPore Technologies LLC, a start up company to commercialize the technology. Participants in the project, including the graduate and undergraduate students gained significant experience in applied research and development, in market research and business development and in presenting scientific research to a non-technical audience. This experience has already impacted efforts at The University of Alabama to develop entrepreneurial skills in science and engineering majors.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
1237216
Program Officer
Rathindra DasGupta
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2012-03-15
Budget End
2013-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$50,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Tuscaloosa
State
AL
Country
United States
Zip Code
35487