6K Receives Innovation Grant for Battery Production

The Massachusetts’ governor’s office recently awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to 6K to boost the company’s production of advanced materials that are used in additive manufacturing  (AM) and in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, grid storage and consumer electronics. 

The company says the award from the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) at MassTech will fund high-tech equipment to recycle scrap materials used in AM and battery production. The state grant will fund the purchase of one new UniMelt system, a technology that is designed by 6K and will be manufactured by Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works with components from AVS Inc., creating a strong in-state supply chain. 

The new UniMelt system will be used to produce metal powders used in AM and battery material production. The UniMelt is said to enable the development of advanced materials across a wide spectrum of markets, including AM, lithium-ion batteries and energy storage. The new unit will join others in the company’s new facility, thereby expanding production capability.

6K’s UniMelt microwave technology is said to feature innovative, sustainable and environmentally-friendly characteristics. It recycles scrap materials or used metal powder or parts that would otherwise go to landfills, and instead transforms it into premium metal powder used in 3D printing for the production parts used in aerospace, defense, medical and automotive applications.
 
The investment will facilitate the clean production of these materials, installing a cost-competitive solution compared to traditional material manufacturing methods which take longer and tend to produce more pollutants and waste (including water). By contrast, the UniMelt system is said to produce material in two to three seconds with no hazardous waste, a 6 times reduction in water usage, and a 3 times reduction in both power use and CO2 emissions.

In addition, 6K recently established a new 33,000-square-foot battery center of excellence preproduction facility in North Andover, Massachusetts, which it says will be one of the largest battery material production facilities in the United States.