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TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Production of Dense and Porous Metallic Heat Pipe Components via Digital Light Processing A unique manufacturing technique for producing heat pipes that significantly ... TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Production of Dense and Porous Metallic Heat Pipe Components via Digital Light Processing A unique manufacturing technique for producing heat pipes that significantly improves performance and cost. Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this heat pipe production technology. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses and ultimately an improved way of life for the American people. Overview: Heat transfer plays a significant role in the operation of modern devices and systems. Many devices and systems are designed to generate heat that can be utilized for purposes such as space heating and generating electricity. Other devices may generate heat as a byproduct that may need to be removed for operational performance. One common type of heat transfer device is a heat pipe. Heat pipes combine the principles of both thermal conductivity and phase transition to effectively transfer heat between two solid interfaces. Improving heat pipe performance will allow for thermal systems to require a smaller number of heat pipes, resulting in a smaller footprint, simpler configuration, and a more economical design. This is especially important for emerging small modular, micro, and high temperature nuclear reactor technologies. Description: The use of Digital Light Processing (DLP) enables the customer to design metallic heat pipe components with enhance internal geometry to improve vapor transport and overall thermal performance. While there are other, more established additive techniques for printing metals, DLP is ideal for complex heat pipe production. This is because after a print is completed, uncured resign is rinsed from these features with relative ease. DLP is also advantageous for industrial scale manufacturing since hundreds or even thousands of parts can be printed simultaneously. Layers are cured in batches, whereas traditional additive approaches typically only print one part layer at a time. Benefits: Significant improvement of heat pipe performance. Applications: Manufacturers and end-users and heat pipes: Aerospace Military/Defense Electronics HVAC Material Processing Medical Hybrid Energy Systems Development Status: TRL 3, currently undergoing proof-of-concept work. IP Status: Provisional Patent Application No. 63/266,686, “Heat-Transfer Devices and Methods of Forming the Heat-Transfer Devices,” BEA Docket No. BA-1294. INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities. Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.