Press Release
October 28, 2005
Hybrid Plastics Teams With Hybrid Catalysis To Produce and Develop New Catalysts
Hybrid Plastics in Hattiesburg, Mississippi has teamed with Hybrid Catalysis in Eindhoven, Netherlands to produce and develop new and powerful catalysts from POSS® (Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes) and POMS™ (Polyhedral Oligomeric Metallized Silsesquioxanes) Nanostructured® chemicals. Hybrid Catalysis was formed earlier this year as a spin-off from the Technical University Eindhoven and can provide catalysts in batches up to one kilogram. Established applications involve Lewis acid catalysis (e.g. epoxidation, olefin polymerization, Oppenauer oxidation, Friedel Crafts reactions, etc.) POSS® catalysis involves both homogeneous and heterogeneous applications.
This collaboration is designed to develop innovative new catalytic materials for the global marketplace. Both companies will offer support in this area with Hybrid Plastics championing Hybrid Catalysis’ efforts. Hybrid Plastics will provide starting material to Hybrid Catalysis, as well as technical and sales assistance. Additionally, Hybrid Plastics has agreed in principle to make an equity investment in Hybrid Catalysis.
POSS® and POMS™ are a revolutionary new Nanotechnology based on silicon-derived building blocks that provide nanometer-scale control to existing manufacturing protocols. These compounds have an average diameter of just 1.5 nanometers, or billionth of a meter. They release no VOCs, and, thereby, produce no odor or air pollution. They are biocompatible, recyclable, non-flammable, and competitively priced with traditional polymer feedstocks. POSS® Nanostructured® materials can be readily incorporated into virtually any existing polymer system through blending, grafting or copolymerization.
These POSS® nanobuilding-blocks were hailed by R&D magazine as globally one of the 100 most technologically significant new products for the year 2000. More recently, Hybrid Plastics was one of five finalists for the Small Times Magazine’s 2002 Best of Small Tech Award for its POSS® Nanostructured® materials. Hybrid Plastics is regarded as one of the top 10 nanotechnology companies in the United States. It operates a 2,300 square meter facility in Mississippi which is scheduled to double in size next year. Moreover, Hybrid Plastics also maintains its original California facility for ongoing research and development.
For More Information Contact:
Carl Hagstrom, Chief Operating Officer Dr. Erik Abbenhuis, CEO
chagstrom@hybridplastics.com H.C.L.Abbenhuis@tue.nl
Hybrid Plastics, Inc. Hybrid Catalysis, B.V.
55 W. L. Runnels Industrial Dr. Helix STW 4.43
Hattiesburg, MS 39401 P.O. Box 513
Tel: 601.544.3466 5600 MB Eindhoven
Fax: 601.545.3103 The Netherlands