Home page › Fulcrum SP Ltd

Fulcrum SP Ltd.

The company

Fulcrum is a nanotechnology company aimed to lead the use of Nano-components in the fast growing, $21B markets of advanced composites, in aerospace, ballistics and sport products.

Fulcrum proprietary technology utilized genetic engineered protein for self assembly of complex organized structures in composites. The first nanostructures developed include carbon nanotubes (CNT) reinforced polymer resins (epoxy) and CNT bound to fibers like carbon fibers or Kevlar.

The aspiration of higher strength to weight ratio, lightweight, fuel-saving technologies and the drive to go "green" has produced a tremendous upswing in demand for advanced composites not only in aircraft but industrial and leisure applications as well.

Advance composites

"Advance composites" refers to materials in which a polymeric matrix (epoxy) serves as a type of glue that holds reinforcing material (carbon-fiber, Kevlar^TM) in place.

Carbon nanotubes (CNT), The Problem

Carbon nanotubes have extraordinary mechanical properties, 100 times stronger then stainless steel and 6 times lighter. CNT are the ultimate reinforcement material for advanced composites, owing to their very small diameters, very high aspect rations, and exceptional strength.

As of now carbon nanotubes reinforced composites are not produced at industrial levels of production, due to fundamental barriers based on dispersion and or interfacial shear strength issues:

Dispersion – carbon nanotubes must be uniformly dispersed in order to achieve efficient load transfer, uniform stress distribution and to minimize stress-concentration centers.
Interfacial stress transfer – The most important requirement is that external stress applied to the matrix is efficiently transferred to the carbon nano-tubes.

Composite Materials Market Potential

Aero space, civil aviation (Boeing's new 787 "dreamliner" is made entirely from composites), helicopters and military aircrafts, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs); ballistics, armor for military and civil vehicles, sport equipment, clean-tech, and more.

The aviation market demand for composites based on carbon fiber is estimated at to be over 12,000 metric tones of 2008 and to double by 2014. Market value at 2008 is expected to be close to $10B.

Products

CNT reinforce matrix (epoxy)
CNT reinforce fabrics (Carbon fiber, Kevlar)
CNT reinforce paints and coatings

Competition

Technology	Disadvantages
CNT surface functionalization – surface treatment technologies introduce functional groups on surface of the CNT. Commercially available in small quantities by Nanocyl® and Zyvex LTD	Requires many modifications which results in defects on the wall or end of CNTs and deterioration of the mechanical and electrical properties. Significantly more expensive than standard CNT
CNT attached to carbon fibers – A proof of concept was demonstrated by academic groups.	Academic research only Not available commercially Significantly expensive
Covalent attachment of large molecules - such as polymers and proteins on functionalized CNT walls	Academic research only Not available commercially Significantly expensive
Use of small molecule additives – such as surfactants and other amphiphilic compounds, to coat CNT in a non-covalent mechanism.	Not available commercially Doesn't allow attachment with other functional groups in the epoxy, week interaction

Advantages over the competition

The main advantage of our products lays in the remarkable improvement to the strength to weight ratio of advanced composite materials.

SP1 is stable under extreme conditions used in composites applications.
Self assembled process.
SP1 prevents aggregation of the CNT
SP1 improves interfacial stress transfer
SP1/ CNT improves resistance to delamination and cracks.
Compatible price of SP1

Test results of CNT reinforced epoxy shows improvement of up to 45% of storage modulus, up to 57% in flexural strength and up to 31% in flexural modulus over neat epoxy.

First order of reinforced Kevlar^TM fabric.

On October 2008, a leading company in the global ballistic market place an order worth over $20K for sheets of Kevlar^TM fabrics reinforce with Fulcrum's SP1/ CNT complex.

The Team

Mr. Klaman Kaufman, Chairman. Served as corporate VP at applied Materials. Previously

Mr. Kaufman was the founder and President of KLA Instruments Israel and General Manager of Kulicke and Soffa Israel. He was the Chairman of Solgel Nanotechnology; he is a founder member of Waterfronts, serves on the board of Mempile and is a member of several other boards of directors. He holds engineering degrees from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Mr. Nimrod Litvak, CEO. Holds economist degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; businessman, pilot and marine captain. Extensive knowledge and experience in composite materials applications for the aviation and marine markets. Founder and chairman of Fulcrum SP Ltd. Founder and director of Bio-Group Technologies Ltd.

Dr. Amnon Wolf, CTO. Graduate of the Weizmann Institute and post doctorate fellow in UC Berkeley. 13 years experience in the biotechnology industry includes management of projects in the areas of protein chemistry, drug discovery and high throughput screening of chemical libraries. Co-founder of Fulcrum SP Ltd.

Dr. Galit Cohen Ben-Lulu, Scientist. Graduate and post doctorate fellow in the Weizmann Institute. Extensive experience in protein biochemistry and molecular biology.

Dr. Elena Grimberg, Scientist. Graduate of the Sackler Scholl of Medicine, Tel Aviv University and post doctorate fellow in Weizmann Institute. Experienced in the fields of cell and molecular biology, as well as protein biochemistry.

Prof. Oded Shoseyov, Advisory Board. Scientific founder of Fulcrum SP and NBP. Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University; scientific founder of CBD-Technologies Ltd. And scientific consultant to several biotechnology companies. Prof. Shoseyov holds 16 biotechnology-related patents.

Prof. Arie Altman, Advisory Board. Scientific founder of Fulcrum SP and Nano Bio Pharma Ltd. Chair of the Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics at the Faculty of Agriculture, the Hebrew University, visiting professor in other major research institutions; member of the Israeli National Committee for Biotechnology and Chairman of the National Sub-Committee for Plant Genomics.

Mechanical test are conducted by:

Prof. Moshe Narkis, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr. Ana Dotan, senior scientist at The Israel Plastics and Rubber Center – Shenkar College.

Mr. Boaz Trudler, an expert in composites and a master builder, assists in the preparation of the composites products and parts.

Contact

Nimrod_l@fulcrumsp.com