Massachusetts-based 6K turns metals, including scrap, into high-performance materials for various applications, like lithium-ion batteries, additive manufacturing powders, ceramics, and other offerings that are tailored for specific industry needs. In 2023, the company signed contracts to provide the U.S. Army with materials for 3D printing and to provide materials science company Forge Nano with ingredients for batteries for use in defense, aerospace, and other specialty applications.
The key is UniMelt, a microwave plasma technology first developed at MIT that produces temperatures exceeding 6,000 degrees Kelvin. Think of the plasma like a ball of sun, about 3 inches in diameter, stretched by gasses into a 6-foot-long beam resembling a lightsaber. According to 6K, the process produces no salt or liquid waste, uses just 10% of the water and half of the energy of conventional processes, and reduces costs by half. Its technique can also precisely control the composition and structure of materials at the atomic level. The “scrap” can also be used as a feedstock for other premium metal powders.
With a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy—part of the administration’s effort to expand domestic manufacturing of EV batteries—the company is building a full-scale battery manufacturing plant in Jackson, Tennessee. Scheduled to open in late 2024, the plant will complement a 33,000-square-foot manufacturing site in North Andover, Massachusetts, which is already one of the largest battery material production facilities in the United States.
For more information: 6K Inc.
