Adding weight to the argument that the materials space is one of the most interesting aspects of 3D printing, a new company has recently entered the additive manufacturing industry.
Chromatic 3D Materials LLC of Maple Grove, Minnesota has raised $175,000 of a $200,000 financing goal. Leading the new 3D printing materials company is CEO Cora Leibig.
Biochemicals and Premier League Football
Around this time last year Leibig was employed as Chief Operating Officer at Segetis, a venture capital backed company producing levulinic acid derivatives. The assets of Segetis, including 50 patents, were acquired earlier this year by GF Biochemicals: an Italian company started, in secret, by former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini.
According to GF Biochemicals’ website levulinic acid is “recognized by the US Department of Energy as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future.” The company continue to explain that the material is an “incredibly versatile building block for chemicals and materials derived directly from biomass.”
Leibig’s former company gained prominence in the previous decade and was among the initial wave of enterprises focusing on sustainable sources, or renewable, chemicals.
GF Biochemicals expect the market for levulinic acid to grow from current levels of approximately 10,000 tons per year to 1.5 million tons a year during the next five years.
Emerging from stealth mode
Chromatic 3D Materials are at the pre-revenue stage and have a minimal online presence.
However, with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, an MS in Chemical Engineering Practice from MIT plus more than a decade with The Dow Chemical Company, Leibig brings heavyweight chemical knowledge and experience to the young enterprise.
Founded in January this year, Chromatic 3D Materials are focused on “Developing high performance materials for all major 3D printing platforms. These materials will advance 3D printing from prototype to industrial, functional applications.”
Furthermore, Leibig is named as inventor on nearly 60 patents related to material science and chemistry, with this there is an expectation that when Chromatic emerge from stealth mode, it will be with a bang.
For now 3DPI will be watching closely and keep readers informed of any updates.
