1. Tell us about the origin of Peak Nano Films?

Peak Nano Films was developed as part of a joint technology commercialization program for a new class of capacitor films through Case Western Reserve University, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Naval Research Office (NRO). They had been studying how to utilize metamaterials to create films with novel properties. The company was incorporated in 2010.

2. Who are your investors?

Peak Nano is 100% privately funded from US investors interested in nanotechnology and next-generation materials markets.

3. What makes your approach unique in the market?

Our core technology is the ability to custom engineer properties by combining multiple nanolayers, which is known as NanoPlex. This approach provides us with the versatility to create new solutions that solve complex problems, providenew capabilities, and optimize operations for our customers. Since these are engineered, they can be created quickly with predictable results. To accelerate the process even further, we utilize artificial intelligence (AI) based engineering software to design our films from secure supply chainpartners in the US and allied nations.

4. Who are your target customers?

We are targeting customers in market segments that utilize pulsed-power systems that require high-value capacitive solutions. These customers include: manufacturers of components to help stabilize and optimize public power grids, such as step-up, step-down, and power factor correction equipment; electric vehicles (EVs) and DC fast-charging equipment for EVs; pulsed power systems for fusion energy solutions; and laser-based defense applications. All of these solutions require the ability to function in environmentally-challenging environments such as high temperatures without impacting the service life of the components. NanoPlex also let us design our capacitor films to meet the specific requirements of our customers, something that cannot be done with bulk material films such as biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and similar materials.

5. What are your supply chain challenges?

We are the only US producer of capacitor films. Our biggest challenges are: i) raw materials (come fromEurope and Korea); and ii) getting domestic talent,especially local (Midwestern) talent. Material sciences and power engineers are not necessarily the “flavor ofthe day”, even though we use artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, etc.

6. When will fusion start powering the grid?

We believe that the timescale for the first fusion plants will be in the 2028-2029, though these will likely be small demonstrator plants rather than commercially viable operations. Which will take another 5 to 10 years to go online. We also strongly believe that the US will be the first country to achieve commercial fusion, largely due to the strong private investments into fusion, as well as our industrial base strength. That said, nearly any commercial fusion solution will inevitably include critical components and technologies from many countries; this is where our allied nations become important.

7. What else would you like people to know about your company?

Peak is a company that is not afraid of attacking “big problems”, and swinging “out of our league”. We want to make a sustained impact on new technologies and new markets, helping these come to light.