The initiative to return manufacturing to the U.S. is confronting a regrettable reality: The methods for producing numerous essential materials today generate hazardous byproducts and various environmental threats. This applies to commonly utilized industrial metals like nickel and titanium, as well as specialized minerals, substances, and coatings that are integral to batteries, advanced electronics, and defense sectors.
Now, 6K, established by former MIT research scientist Kamal Hadidi, is employing an innovative production method to reinstate critical materials manufacturing in America without the harmful byproducts.
The organization is actively enhancing its microwave plasma technology, which it refers to as UniMelt, to revolutionize the processing of critical minerals, simultaneously creating new domestic supply chains. UniMelt harnesses beams of precisely regulated thermal plasma to melt or vaporize precursor materials into particles with exact sizes and crystalline structures.
This technology transforms metals, such as titanium, nickel, and refractory alloys, into particles tailored for additive manufacturing across various industrial uses. It is also being utilized to develop battery materials for electric vehicles, grid systems, and data centers.
“The markets and essential materials we are concentrating on are crucial not only for economic purposes but also for U.S. national security, since the majority of these materials are currently produced in unfriendly nations,” says 6K CEO Saurabh Ullal. “Now, the [U.S. government] and our expanding customer base can take advantage of this technology developed at MIT to reduce U.S. dependence on these unfriendly nations, securing supply chain autonomy now and in the future.”
Named after the 6,000-degree temperature of its plasma, 6K is presently supplying its high-performance metal powders to parts manufacturers and to defense, automotive, medical, and oil and gas industries for applications ranging from engine components and medical implants to rockets. To grow its battery materials business, 6K is also constructing a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Jackson, Tennessee, which is set to begin construction later this year.
A weekend initiative
Between 1994 and 2007, Hadidi was employed at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PFSC), where he innovated plasma technologies for various uses, including hydrogen generation, fuel reforming, and environmental toxin detection. His first venture was established in 2000 at the PFSC to identify mercury in smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.
“I truly enjoyed my time at MIT,” Hadidi states. “It’s a remarkable environment that genuinely challenges you. Just being there is so invigorating because everyone is striving to devise new solutions and link different fields.”
Hadidi also started employing high-frequency microwave plasmas to fabricate nanomaterials for optical applications. Lacking materials expertise, he collaborated with Professor Eric Jordan, a materials synthesis specialist from the University of Connecticut, and together, they began refining the concept during evenings and weekends in the PSFC, ultimately securing a patent for the technology.
Hadidi formally established the company as Amastan in 2007, investigating the application of his microwave plasma technology, later dubbed UniMelt for “uniform melt state process,” to produce a diverse array of materials as part of a governmental grant awarded to him and Jordan.
The researchers quickly recognized that the microwave plasma technology presented multiple advantages over conventional production methods for specific materials. For instance, it could eliminate several energy-intensive steps of traditional processes, shortening production timeframes from days to hours in certain instances. In cases of batteries and particular critical minerals, the method is also compatible with recycled feedstocks. Amastan was rebranded as 6K in 2019.
In the earlier phases, Hadidi produced metal powders for additive manufacturing through a technique called spheroidization, which results in dense, spherical powders that flow efficiently and create high-performance 3D-printed components.
Following another grant, Hadidi investigated techniques for producing a type of battery cathode composed of lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC). The conventional approach to manufacturing NMCs involved chemical synthesis, precipitation, thermal treatment, and considerable water usage. 6K can minimize many of these steps, accelerating production and reducing costs while also being more environmentally sustainable.
“Our technology completely erases toxic waste and recycles all byproducts back into the process to maximize utility, including water,” Ullal states.
Expanding domestic production
Currently, 6K’s additive manufacturing sector operates from a facility in Pennsylvania. The company’s systems for processing, refining, and recycling critical minerals have the capacity to produce approximately 400 tons of material annually and can generate over a dozen varieties of metal powders. Additionally, the company possesses a 33,000-square-foot battery center in North Andover, Massachusetts, where it manufactures battery cathode materials for its energy storage and mobility clients.
The Tennessee facility will cater to the production of battery cathode materials, signifying a significant increase in throughput. The company anticipates that it will be able to yield 13,000 tons of material per year once construction is completed next year.
“I am pleased if my efforts contribute positively to society, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who supported me,” remarks Hadidi, who departed from the company in 2019. “At heart, I am an entrepreneur. I enjoy creating. However, that doesn’t guarantee success every time. It is immensely gratifying to witness such impact.”
The 6K team asserts that its technology can also produce a range of specialty ceramics, advanced coatings, and nanoengineered substances. They hint that it might also be utilized to eradicate PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” although this research is still in the early stages.
The company recently obtained a grant to demonstrate a process for recycling essential materials from military depots to create aerospace and defense products, establishing a new value chain for these materials that would otherwise deteriorate or end up in landfills. This initiative aligns with the company’s motto, “We take nothing from the ground and place nothing into the ground.”
The organization’s additive division has recently secured a $23.4 Defense Production Act grant “which will enable us to double processing capacity within the next three years,” Ullal states. “The subsequent phase is to scale battery materials production to tens of thousands of tons annually. At this juncture, it’s a matter of enhancing known processes, and we simply need to execute. The ambition of forming a circular economy is significant to us because that’s the foundation of how we’ve developed this company, contributing value while addressing our U.S. national security challenges and safeguarding the planet.”