Animals that survive the harshest environments on earth make molecules that control ice, water, and biology at the surface. A decade of research at the University of Michigan figured out how to stabilize those molecules into durable industrial materials. DARPA has funded $11M of that work to date. The result is one bio-inspired, PFAS-free platform that governs how a coated part behaves — what grows on it, what sticks to it, how it holds heat, whether it fogs or ices over. We supply the material and license the brand as an ingredient. Gore-Tex's model, not Sherwin-Williams'. We don't manufacture and we don't apply — our partners do, into markets they already own.
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Ryan Evans
founder
Surfaces fail where it matters most. Marine growth burns fuel and range. Cold degrades gear, infrastructure, and warfighter performance. Fog and ice take optics offline. Today's fixes are narrow, toxic, or short-lived: copper being regulated out, PFAS under fire, bulky insulation adding weight. Every one is a surface problem, and no one has attacked them with a single platform.
One bio-inspired, PFAS-free chemistry engineered to control how a coated part behaves — and it travels across markets that look unrelated but share the same root problem. THERMAL — Frost-free heat exchanger coatings that eliminate defrost cycles. Peer-reviewed modeling puts it at roughly 43% less winter electricity across 25 U.S. cities, with no comfort penalty. MARINE — Metal-free antifouling that performs whether or not a hull is moving. Outperformed state-of-the-art copper over six months at sea. Applies with a brush or roller using equipment yards already have. COLD WEATHER — Aerogel-class thermal insulation at 2.5x state-of-the-art performance. Warmth without bulk: a thin treated glove held dry ice at -110°F with full dexterity intact. OPTICS — Durable anti-fog and anti-frost coatings that hold through 1,000+ abrasion cycles at 90%+ light transmittance, where every incumbent is soap chemistry that fails in weeks. Same platform. Different surface. The verticals keep surfacing faster than we can chase them.
$11M in non-dilutive DARPA funding to date across two programs; Phase III productization now underway Beat state-of-the-art copper in a six-month at-sea trial with a leading European naval shipbuilder — the trial converted and is expanding into a joint venture Paid pilot in the water with a commercial aquaculture operator Funded winter pilots with a $1.66B Michigan utility — their capital, with a path to a state efficiency rebate Automotive OEM co-development underway on EV thermal management Field-tested with the U.S. Army in Alaska at -35°F across the full product portfolio In active technical evaluation with leading technical apparel brands University of Michigan spinout; exclusive license in negotiation
$315.7K
1 award
Awards
Department of Defense