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New Materials: Modumetal's Nanolaminate Alloys, Grown in a Tank, Outperform Steel

Forget about steel tariffs; Christina Lomasney is rewriting the future of metals

By Rain Noe - March 8, 2018

in Materials

Right now steel tariffs are all over the news, with different people arguing where we should buy our steel. Options exist because steel is by and large the same whether it's produced in China or the U.S. But Seattle-based physicist Christina Lomasney, the President, CEO and co-founder of Modumetal, might change all of that. If her company succeeds, Modumetal might become the go-to supplier (or licenser) of a very desirable, revolutionary type of metal called nanolaminate alloys.

Lomasney and her 17-employee company have figured out how to "grow" metal in a tank--and in a variety of compositions. It is an additive process, but it is not 3D printing. Their proprietary methods are obviously a secret, but it seems like a very advanced, highly-controlled form of electrochemistry, which is relatively cheap. Yet the metal it produces is "stronger and lighter than steel, more corrosion resistant than galvanize, more durable than chrome and redefines metals performance across industries," the company writes. "Modumetal will replace conventional metals and composites in applications, spanning infrastructure, automotive, aerospace, energy, construction and more."

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It's not just exciting that Lomasney and her team have figured out the process--it's also that they've figured out how to do it on a large scale. That's the game-changer. "Modumetal is an industrial scale manufacturing process," the company claims, "that delivers nanolaminated alloys at a cost that is competitive with conventional metals processes."

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Modumetal has been producing corrosion-resistant pumps and valves for the oil and gas industries, and has also successfully tested a thermal barrier coating system for alloys designed for the high-temperature demands of propulsion systems and turbines. They've also developed an iron-based alloy that exceeds steel "in strength, impact toughness and hardness, and yet [is] cost competitive with comparable high-performance steels." They also produce more conventional hardware that you or I would recognize and could spec' for a project: Hex nuts, screws, threaded rods, tubulars, washers.

Beyond hardware, what are the implications for designers? Lomasney kicks off this video with some examples, then shows you a bit of their process, touches on Samurai swords, shows you how Modumetal stacks up against conventional metals and more:

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Of course, as we industrial designers well know, having a novel process doesn't really become revolutionary until you are able to scale it up. Modumetal can. Here they discuss their potential to revolutionize manufacturing where metals are concerned:

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If we, as a country, could focus on how to educate, support and enable more people like Lomasney--a fourth-generation nuclear scientist, for chrissakes--and spend less time squabbling about tariffs, I think we'd all be better off.

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Robert Patience

6 years ago

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Sounds like a very interesting prospect. I would be interested to see how it performs with classical fabrication techniques. I would be interested in performance of weldability, bending, cutting, grinding.
Within construction especially even with the largest components they will need joined together somehow, do you need fasteners of the same material to prevent galvanic corrosion etc? I'll be convinced once I see some scaled application as well as recyclability prospects. I assume you don't just melt down a nanolaminate...

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Mark H

6 years ago

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This sounds like really, really thick electroplating. With different cathodes in the solution, they might even be able to layer different materials without even transferring it to a different container. For their corrosion resistance, are they electroplating on a really thick layer of zinc instead of dipping it in molten fluid.

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- Jonas Eriksson
  
  Mark H
  
  6 years ago
  
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  Most likely just electroplating. There have been limits to which metals can be combined and plated together, mostly do due the salt water electrolyte. Some metals require high currents and voltages in order to be plated and the water in the electrolyte starts to boil from the temperature and splits into hydrogen and oxygen from the current.
  
  New electrolytes without water can handle much more current and temperature so it is now possible to coat anything with any metal or metal oxide with how many layers you want. Basically metal composites.
  
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