Nine years ago, we founded SkyNano on a simple but ambitious idea: what if we could take industrial waste CO2 and turn it into advanced carbon materials that American defense and commercial supply chains actually needed — at a price point that made real economic sense?
That idea became a company. And that company became something we’re truly proud of.
Today, we’re proud to announce that SkyNano’s IP and technology assets are being acquired by our long-term partner, American Energy Technologies Co. (AETC) — an organization that shares our commitment to building critical material supply chains for U.S. defense and commercial applications. We believe this is the right next chapter for the technology we’ve spent nearly a decade building.
The heart of SkyNano has always been the people who showed up every day to build something that had never been built before. Over nearly a decade, dozens of scientists, engineers, and business professionals took a risk on SkyNano. PhDs and new graduates. Seasoned engineers and early-career researchers. People who relocated their lives from across the country because they believed in what we were doing. That kind of commitment isn’t given lightly, and we don’t take it for granted. They built a technology that actually worked.
We remember the first time we made and shipped 300 grams of MWCNT material from production assets that felt undersized for the task. We remember the first time we achieved continuous flow of molten Li₂CO₃ salt for ten hours straight — the culmination of nearly four years of work — with team members staying well past 1am to see the demonstration through. We remember the first time we demonstrated a fully continuous process concept, complete with smart robotics, and started to see concretely what a scaled plant would actually look like. Those moments were earned. They belong to the people who made them happen.
The science was sound. The engineering was real. And the market opportunity, when we started, was unmistakably there.
When SkyNano started, the economics of advanced carbon materials left meaningful room for a domestically competitive solution. We developed scalable technology with real engineering data, Life Cycle, and Technoeconomic Analysis to support a credible pathway that customers told us directly would change their business case and market competitiveness. We built a first-of-a-kind continuous pilot chemical plant which produced battery-grade synthetic graphite and high quality multi-walled carbon nanotubes. We pioneered a carbon conversion solution that permanently sequesters CO2 into the products and devices people already use. We were proud to be among the earliest teams to move this work out of academic laboratories and into the commercial world — and that field looks completely different today than it did nine years ago. Along the way, we were honored to be recognized with an R&D100 Award, Forbes 30 Under 30, the TechConnect Innovator Award, the Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award, the Innov865 Traction Award, and the Knoxville Chamber Women-Owned Business Excellence Award, and AETC’s Honorary Award for Significant Contribution to the Advanced Graphite & Carbon Industry.
The market landscape shifted in ways that made our path as an independent U.S. technology company no longer viable. Chinese-produced MWCNTs have fallen more than 80% in price since we began — a dramatic move that fundamentally changed the competitive picture. At the same time, domestic demand for these materials has not developed the way earlier projections suggested, including in battery manufacturing, where a robust U.S. supply chain has been slower to emerge than many anticipated. The result is a market we could not compete in as a standalone company, and we chose to face that reality squarely rather than wait for circumstances to decide for us.
None of this was possible without an extraordinary ecosystem of partners and supporters. We’re especially grateful to our federal sponsors, UTK, TVA, Endeavor, Eonix, Innovation Crossroads, LaunchTN, Spark Innovation Center, the City of Knoxville, Vanderbilt, ORNL, and AETC — organizations that believed in this mission and worked alongside us through it. To every scientist, engineer, and team member who gave their talent and uprooted their lives for SkyNano: what you built was real, and it will continue to matter.
We’re grateful to have confidence in a shared vision with AETC and to know the technology will continue with the right team. Anna Doninger, Manager of Government Relations at AETC shared, “AETC is excited to acquire SkyNano’s technology and key equipment assets. Our partnership began in 2021, when CO2-derived MWCNTs were successfully applied for the first time as a catalyst in the synthesis of synthetic diamonds — achieving yields that meaningfully outperformed industry benchmarks. Since then, our collaboration has expanded into domestic synthetic graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes and battery recycling applications. SkyNano’s technology has found a natural home within AETC’s growing portfolio, and we look forward to seeing it continue to grow in the markets we serve.”
SkyNano had a group of exceptionally talented scientists and engineers who are now exploring their next opportunities. If you’re hiring and want to connect with people who built something that had never been built before, please reach out — I’d be glad to make introductions.
To the broader carbon conversion and critical materials community — keep going. This work is important. The country needs it.