Author: hoodbl

CRG launches new eAviation company: Lectratek

CRG’s Venture Studio today has launched an electric aviation (eAviation) technology company, Lectratek LLC. This new company is focused on powering eAviation technologies for an industry poised for dramatic growth.

Lectratek leverages core proprietary technologies developed over the years by CRG. Initial offerings will include engineering services and aircraft components related to electric propulsion, advanced affordable composites, and safe energy storage. Growth over time is anticipated to eventually touch virtually all aspects of electric aviation powertrains and some structural components. The new company is already off to a strong start, leveraging over $25 million of prior DoD/NASA investment at CRG, including three new Agility Prime contracts.

“Nothing could be more appropriate to the Dayton region’s inventive roots than growing a company to be a leader in the next wave of aviation,” said CRG’s CEO Patrick Hood. “Electric aviation is rapidly moving from something people dream about to something people will use every day, and Lectratek is positioned to be a leader in the field.”

Lectratek is the first new company coming out of CRG’s recently formed Venture Studio to gain critical mass, according to Andrew Cothrel, CRG’s Chief Venture Officer. “We are really pleased with how quickly customer demand is becoming tangible for Lectratek, particularly for our highly unique propulsion solutions,” said Cothrel. “While it is still early days in eAviation, this is a market forecasting to be worth $178B by 2040, and we think Lectratek has something to offer that can lead to enduring success.”

High-Temperature Composites Center Formed

A reentry vehicle requiring high-temperature materials that resist extreme heat and burn-off

In July of 2019, CRG established its new High-Temperature Composites Center (HTC). This new center lets CRG focus on applications for its signature high-temp resin, MG resin.

The HTC’s vision is to support carbon/carbon (C/C) manufacturing with materials and process innovation, expand the national industrial base for C/C production, and reduce cost and lead time for C/C parts production.

The HTC team includes materials scientists, chemists, aerospace engineers, mechanical engineers and chemical engineers led by HTC Vice President, Michael Rauscher. Read more about the HTC here.

CRG featured in DBJ Cover Story – Innovation Machine

(l-r) Spintech president Craig Jennings, NONA Composites president Ben Dietsch, CRG president and CEO Patrick Hood, Advantic president Brad Doudigan

On May 8th, 2015, the Dayton Business Journal published a cover story about CRG titled “Innovation Machine.” The article highlighted CRG’s spin-off businesses Advantic, Spintech and NONA Composites and the industries they target.

“Patrick Hood spent years trying to perfect a model to commercialize products from his research and development firm. Seems he found the right formula and now the Dayton region stands to benefit.” If you’re a DBJ subscriber, read the full article here.

Dayton Chamber of Commerce: 2015 Soin Award Winner, NONA Composites

On April 13th, 2015, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce FOCUS magazine released an article about NONA Composites, LLC. NONA Composites is this year’s recipient of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Soin Award for Innovation. The award, created in 2007 and named for its sponsor, local entrepreneur Rajesh Soin, recognizes a company with a unique product that exemplifies the region’s tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Soin Award is designed to identify, honor and financially assist a company in the Dayton region that demonstrates the historical innovative spirit of the community. It carries a $25,000 prize – no small matter when a company is less than two years old. “We’re still a very small business and every dollar counts,” said NONA Composites President Ben Dietsch. “This award has helped us go a long way in being able to continue to reach out from a sales and marketing perspective and do some internal product development.”

The article highlights the REACH project that NONA Composites was instrumental in completing. Read the full article here.

DBJ: Beavercreek firm’s fix for nuclear waste problem a success

The 30-meter crane boom constructed of lightweight materials by CRG and NONA Composites

On February 23rd, 2015, the Dayton Business Journal published an article about the success of CRG’s REACH project. Last fall, Cornerstone Research Group Inc. and its subsidiaries made a 95-foot long crane-like structure for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. A drum burst inside a storage room at the plant, causing major issues, and the room needed to be “video mapped” before it could be sealed off permanently.

Said the article, “Cornerstone’s crane was a success as the DOE recently finished the video project, which is now being reviewed by its Accident Investigation Board while plant workers dismantle the crane. That success will bolster the company’s national reputation, which should attract more high-profile work and lead to additional jobs.” Typically a project like this crane would have taken about six months to make, but Cornerstone Research did it in seven weeks. Read the full story here. Below is a video of the REACH camera boom in use.

CRG’s camera boom enables safe spill inspection

On February 1st, 2015, Composites World published an article about CRG’s REACH project. Commissioned for the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM, this very long 32-meter camera boom for the DoE’s appropriately named REACH project was designed for and built with carbon fiber composites, and then tested in only seven weeks, enabled by No Oven, No Autoclave (NONA) technology developed by a subsidiary of CRG, NONA Composites. The beam was light enough to be cantilevered from a steel support mounted to the pictured mobile frame.

The completed REACH system was deployed and tested six times by week seven, including tests of the camera transport rover. It was then transported to WIPP, assembled and used for training before deployment in following months. Read the Composites World article here.