WisBusiness: EarthMimic develops a more efficient catalyst material for tech-based companies

By Chris Pressley

For WisBusiness.com

APPLETON – A nano-technology tool developed by Wisconsin-based EarthMimic is drawing investor interest for its ability to speed up chemical reactions.

An experienced team of scientists and engineers at this Appleton firm have developed a catalyst that helps produce materials with high surface area in nano- and micron-sized structures. In other words, they make a smaller catalyst that can get the same job done as larger counterparts, but with more efficiency.

“Our smaller sized catalysts are more efficient because they reduce metal costs in catalyst materials by using less expensive reactive material,” said Brian Hans, a biologist who is also the founder and CEO of EarthMimic. “They also improve catalytic properties and provide more reaction per given space of reactor, giving it a quicker reaction time.”

The company says the new development provides cost benefits and helps growing technology-based companies solve how they will commercialize processes that exist only in laboratory settings and in white papers.

“We have a catalyst that does amazing things. We enable industries to enable themselves by providing niche solutions to companies that have a hard time in the market place because of cost,” Hans said. “We make large-surface nano materials that help companies that need improved processes.”

Catalyst materials enable chemical reactions to take place and are used in 90 percent of all industrial processes.

A familiar device that uses a catalyst in its processes is the catalytic converter that is used in automobiles. This catalyst, in the form of platinum and palladium, is used to convert harmful compounds that exist in the car’s exhaust system into harmless compounds before they reach the atmosphere. Expensive precious metals such as these are often used as reactors — decreasing their portions is important because it lowers cost and decreases the amount of waste.

“An increasingly important industry interest is selectivity. If a company can reduce the amount of waste there is to make a catalyst then they will be greener. We provide a better catalyst that is a green technology and saves money,” Hans said.

EarthMimic is in its early stages of development and is looking for seed money. The company received a boost in November 2007 when it emerged as one of the top three winners at the Elevator Pitch Olympics portion of the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium. This year at the same conference, the company was selected to present at a higher level.

Hans said winning the “People’s Choice Award” in the 2007 Elevator Pitch Olympics gave his team confidence and the ability to move forward with a market-specific plan.

“The (Early Stage Symposium) is the big one, we practiced all the way up to the event and believe that we have a laser beam of a plan that will propel us into the market,” Hans said. “We want to deliver so everyone understands our significance in solving efficiency problems for current businesses in the industry.”

— Pressley is a graduate student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.