ExxonMobil Chemical Company acquires California-based Materia, Inc., a technology company that has pioneered the development of a Nobel prize-winning technology for manufacturing a new class of materials. The materials can be used in a number of applications, including wind turbine blades, electric vehicle parts, sustainable construction and anticorrosive coatings, according to ExxonMobil. The acquisition includes Materia’s headquarters and technology center in Pasadena, California and its manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Texas. ExxonMobil intends to operate the business under the Materia company name as a wholly owned affiliate.
ExxonMobil and Materia reportedly have been collaborating since 2017 on the development of new hydrocarbon-based materials that are stronger, lighter and more durable than existing thermoset products such as epoxy. In the wind power industry, these benefits could enable the design of longer, more durable wind turbine blades for more efficient renewable electricity production, according to ExxonMobil. Due to their strength, the materials could also be used as a lightweight, corrosion-resistant replacement for steel in certain construction applications. The materials reportedly take advantage of revolutionary catalyst discoveries made by Dr. Robert Grubbs and his research team at the California Institute of Technology. Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for these discoveries.
“We are reimagining how new hydrocarbon-based materials can form the building blocks to help multiple industries achieve a more sustainable future,” says Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “This acquisition ties together Materia’s Nobel Prize-winning technology with ExxonMobil’s complementary proprietary technology and world-class manufacturing capabilities to bring this exciting new class of structural materials to commercial scale.”
For more information, visit: www.exxonmobil.com