Digitising material design
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The technology brings the power of computational chemistry to brands seeking new product materials
Spotted: The next few years of primary industrial chemical production are crucial for reaching the net zero emissions goal for 2050. The industry needs to decouple carbon dioxide emissions from its production – producing more while polluting less. Innovation in efficiency, recycling, and research and development (R&D) are crucial to making that happen.
By moving the trial-and-error approach of traditional research and development methods online, a team of researchers who met at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology has created a tool that speeds up the discovery and testing process for material development. Many different iterations of a test can be run in much less time, making sustainable materials easier to find.
The team patented its Chalmers Hierarchical Atomic, Molecular, Polymeric and Ionic (CHAMPION) Analysis Toolkit and used the technology to form materials technology company Compular. The system makes it possible for non-scientists to benefit from the power of computational chemistry.
To run an experiment, users log into their online dashboard and input a select number of features, including system composition and target properties, to test. The software completes the set-up and then runs the experiment. After the simulations run, results are viewable in several ways, including molecule visualisations, tables, charts, and graphs. The information is also exportable.
Compular has focused its testing on battery development and plans to expand into pharmaceuticals, fuel cells, metals and alloys, and electronics, among others. The Champion toolkit is currently available as a beta version, and companies interested in working with the technology prior to the full launch are encouraged to get in touch.
Innovation in materials is resulting in a wide range of new products, with recent items spotted by Springwise including a juice bottle made from potato skins and a direct air capture filter that stores CO2 in the ocean.
Written By: Keely Khoury