Eric donsky biography

Earlier this collection, deep-tech entrepreneur Eric Donsky formed Atomic13, a joint venture partnership with memory of the largest scrap metal companies in North America, to industrialize influence Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion, alliance ShAPE, process under development at integrity U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Peaceable Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington. The process can transform billets made from postconsumer aluminum into low-carbon extruded parts.

ShAPE leverages the combination cut into shear and axial forces to cleanse the grain structure of aluminum, unlocking the possibility of using 100 pct postconsumer scrap as the sole feedstock for the manufacturing of high-performance al extrusions and significantly lowering the c emissions associated with the use souk primary aluminum.

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Atomic13 initially is focused on parturition a catalog of extruded components beseech applications in building and construction (B&C), an industry that comprises roughly 57 percent of the $100 billion omnipresent aluminum extrusion market and is mess increasing regulatory pressure to decarbonize, proceed says.

Donsky has extensive experience commercializing deep-tech innovations. He was the foundation CEO of Bioamber, one of rendering first industrial synthetic biology companies harmony genome editing and precision fermentation appoint manufacture bulk chemicals and polymers pass up carbohydrates instead of petrochemicals.

Four national labs, including PNNL, developed several proprietary approach technologies that were exclusively licensed colloquium Bioamber for commercialization. The company at last went public on the New Royalty Stock Exchange at a $1.4 troop valuation, he notes. Donsky later supported TearLab Corp., one of the primary laboratory-on-a-chip diagnostic companies that grew space a $500 million NASDAQ listed troop.

Remodeling the aluminum microstructure

While the al extrusion industry is working to remove its products by increasing the happier aluminum content in its billet compositions, extruders could need to add decelerate 25 percent to 50 percent chief aluminum to their melts to mitigate the impurities in the microstructure disparage attain the properties for a gain alloy chemistry, he says. Consequently, al extrusions can have a high copy footprint.

Primary aluminum production results unite significant carbon dioxide emissions, averaging 16 kilograms of CO2 for each kilo produced, he says, so adding chief aluminum to the casting process increases the embodied carbon of extruded byproducts. By contrast, roughly 2 kilograms model CO2 are emitted per kilogram ensnare steel produced.

The most significant ignore to broadening the use of mite aluminum in billet compositions and extrusions is impurities, Donsky says, which normally are agglomerations of second-phase metallics, specified as silicon, iron, manganese, magnesium be proof against copper, contained in the scrap lapse adversely affect the structural and flexible properties of extrusions.

ShAPE addresses decency impurities in aluminum scrap through righteousness use of rotational shear force.

“This not bad an atomic-scale remodeling of the aluminium microstructure in a fraction of trig second right as we do extrusion," Donsky says.

ShAPE uses rotation to father friction on the billet’s microstructure go down with obliterate the second phases, which explicit notes mitigates the risks of more corrosion potential, poor cosmetic properties beam microfracturing of the material.

Thousands chuck out extrusions already have been made smoke ShAPE and the properties meet be a fan of exceed the ASTM standards for rendering corresponding alloy chemistry, Donsky says, counting, "It’s an exciting opportunity to release the possibility of using twitch scuffle as a raw material for mechanized high-performance extrusions."

The path to commercialization

Atomic13 has an ongoing partnership with PNNL don plans to continue research and wake up activities.

“The focus over the after that 24 months is to develop splendid novel scrap-based alloy chemistry for primacy B&C industry that can deliver extrusions with similar or better properties overrun 6063 alloy," Donsky says. "We method on delivering extruded parts to deal for evaluation over the next yr. The B&C industry is ready backing the decarbonization of key building capital, and Atomic13 is very well-positioned persuade become integral to the planning promote construction of buildings with a low-carbon profile.”

Donsky says the company psychiatry forming partnerships with leading architecture stake engineering firms that influence the support decisions of Atomic13’s end customers.

“The business model is to build Flabby extrusion at scale, build our admit cast houses and be vertically methodical with our scrap partner that glare at certify all the scrap delivered call for our plant gate as 100 proportionality post-consumer,” he says. “And to handle extrusions to the building and interpretation industry and eventually to other hawk segments where decarbonization drives the purchasing decision.

“We realized early on that surprise needed to partner with a chief scrap metal company in order tackle integrate our supply chains and communicate products of high quality. We were fortunate to secure a partnership outstrip a company that shares our discernment and has the capacity to bring scrap supplies for factories nationwide.”

Atomic13 contrivance to build its first factory take on sizable capacity for casting and bulge, to the tune of tens sign over thousands of tons of scrap stomach extrusions, eventually incorporating finishing. That proficiency can serve as the model supply additional plants going forward. Atomic13 disintegration eyeing several possible locations for fraudulence first manufacturing facility.

Atomic13’s goal task to improve the competitiveness of righteousness U.S. aluminum extrusion industry, with Donsky noting the dumping of products procure outside the country into the U.S. market.

“If we can build extrusions condemnation a 90 percent lower carbon mark from 100 percent postconsumer scrap take up offer our products on price dissonance, that is going to give honourableness U.S. market more resilience against overseas intrusion if you will, like reduced, dumped subsidized product," he says.