Lockheed Martin Partners with MTI for Advanced Solar Tech

Metamaterial Technologies Inc. (MTI) has signed a $5.6M agreement with Lockheed Martin, which represents Lockheed Martin's first solar investment in Canada. MTI is developing a new product called metaSOLAR™, incorporating advanced materials and its proprietary ultra-lightweight, high efficiency NanoWeb® technology, suitable for flight.

MTI utilizes the latest achievements in optical science, metamaterials, semiconductors and nanofabrication. Its patented solar technology has been engineered to collect, trap and absorb solar light from all directions at wide angles, significantly improving efficiency, removing the need to track the sun.

“We are pleased to see our ITB investment going to a great Canadian global innovator such as Metamaterial Technologies Inc. Their work in the field of smart materials and in developing a disruptive solar application suitable for flight is an example of what Canadian technology offers the world,” said Charles Bouchard, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Canada.

“We are honored to be supported by Lockheed Martin, this agreement will allow us to accelerate the development of metaSOLAR as we aim to enter the solar market by providing advance photovoltaic technology to the aerospace and defence industry,” said George Palikaras, Founder and CEO of Metamaterial Technologies Inc. “metaSOLAR will be ideal for harvesting energy in the transportation industry beyond aviation.”

metaSOLAR incorporates NanoWeb, a highly-conductive metal mesh printed lithographically onto any surface using MTI’s proprietary Rolling Mask Lithography® (RML) manufacturing tool. RML is used to manufacture functional materials in a variety of geometries and designs, allowing MTI to create a new class of smart materials for a wide range of applications.

“Metamaterials are in essence the materials of the future. MTI is pioneering large scale affordable nanofabrication technology that can push the boundaries for crystalline silicon solar efficiency and create very thin form factors for solar cells”, said Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology.

MTI has signed an Investment Framework Agreement under the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy with Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is making these investments as part of its ITB obligations for the in-service support of the C-130J Super Hercules, a transport aircraft.