A commercialization success story
Jessica Green, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Advanced Materials Group
We are excited to announce that on October 24, 2013 an exclusive licensing agreement was officially executed by UltraTech International for the commercialization and production of Luna’s fluid resistant textile treatment under the trade name Ultra-Ever Shield™.
The successful transition of this technology to UltraTech is another example of commercialization using Luna’s unique business model. We develop creative technological solutions to problems that others can’t solve and seek to move them out into the market. In UltraTech, we have found a great partner to take on this exciting challenge.
As Mark Shaw, UltraTech’s Co-President stated in our recent press release, “We’re pleased to partner with Luna, a leader in technology development, to advance their patent-pending textile treatment that we expect will have many commercial and military applications. With our experience in introducing new products and a global sales channel that matches needs with solutions, we look forward to bringing this innovative coating to market.”
For more information, the official press release can be found here:
https://lunainc.com/luna-announces-agreement-commercialize-self-cleaning-textile-technology/
Transitioning from the lab to the market place…
At Luna our research begins with a scientist or engineer matching innovative ideas with difficult problems to create unique solutions. It the case of Ultra-Ever Shield, Luna became aware of a US Army need for dirt and stain repellant fabrics through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Our scientists, inspired by the tiny structure of naturally repellent surfaces like the lotus leaf, came up with a concept for a durable micro-nano structured fabric to achieve exceptional liquid repellency. Luna developed the technology with US Army Phase I and Phase II SBIR funding, and now with the help of UltraTech it has become a commercial reality. In a previous blog (https://lunainc.com/water-required-self-cleaning-clothing/) we discussed the development of this specific technology and its tremendous potential.
Transitioning new technology from the laboratory to the marketplace is a big challenge. In fiscal year 2012, only 16% of the companies that submitted a proposal for SBIR funding were awarded a Phase I contract. Of the companies that successfully complete this first phase, typically fewer than 40% are awarded Phase II contracts for continued research. Even after all of this development, a slim few (~10%) can muster the partners and resources to successfully commercialize. Luna has been able to leverage our historical success in product development and find the right partner in UltraTech to bring this breakthrough technology to the commercial marketplace.
*FY12 SBIR Phase I award data, obtained from June 12, 2013 SSTI Weekly Digest
