The NDSU Research Foundation has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Coretec Industries LLC for the development and commercialization of an intellectual property portfolio of patents or inventions developed through research at NDSU. The agreement was announced by the foundation and 3Dicon, a developer of 3D display technologies that recently purchased, and merged with, Coretec.
NDSU scientists had previously created the only known commercially-viable route to producing cyclohexasilane, a liquid inorganic compound with unique properties that can be combined with other materials for a variety of industry applications.
Coretec will fund an NDSU team of scientists, led by Philip Boudjouk, Jordan A. Engberg Distinguished Professor of chemistry and Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Professor, through a sponsored research agreement. The team will work to further develop and commercialize the technology within the growing markets of energy storage, solar power, microelectronics and printable electronics. The agreement gives access to 11 existing and three pending patents representing global intellectual property on the silicon-based technology. Coretec also has an option to acquire exclusive licensing rights to an additional 16 NDSU Research Foundation patents within the next 18 months.
“It is very gratifying that our discovery is attractive as a potential industrial feedstock chemical, especially when the market for this technology is now as large as it is,” Boudjouk said. “We began this project in 1995 and, while interest was there from the beginning, it was not until printed electronics and energy storage technologies advanced to their current state that commercialization seemed realistic.”
Coretec also is seeking to establish joint development agreements with strategic partners using the portfolio of silicon-based materials for application in high growth markets.
"We are excited to have this licensing agreement in place and to continue working with Dr. Boudjouk and his terrific team at NDSU," said Simon Calton, co-founder of Coretec. "While there is vast potential in terms of applications of the technology, our initial focus will be on energy storage, solar, microelectronics and printable electronics, as we seek to generate immediate revenue for the company and build long term partnerships with manufacturers."
Dale Zetocha, NDSU Research Foundation executive director, said, "Licensing of this significant portfolio of silicon-based technologies, developed after years of research at NDSU, represents a great opportunity for these technologies to be further developed and commercialized for a number of different industry applications. In addition, licensing of these technologies to Coretec further supports technology-led research and economic development in North Dakota."
3DIcon Corp. has patented volumetric 3D display technology that is being developed to produce 360-degree viewable, high-resolution, color images and is intended for use in government and industrial applications such as air traffic control, medical imaging, automotive and aerospace design, geological visualization, weather visualization, battle space visualization and cargo and baggage scanning visualization.
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