From Materials to Printed Products
TCPoly Co-founder Matt Smith
TCPoly was founded in 2017 by Dr. Thomas Bougher and Dr. Matt Smith while completing their PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Georgia Tech. Matt and Tom leveraged their in-depth knowledge of materials science and heat transfer to develop the world’s first thermally conductive 3D printing filament, the Ice9™ Flex filament. Their material is actively being used in the heat exchanger, mold tooling, and electronics thermal management industries and has been sold in over 20 countries.
When COVID hit in 2020, the team was inspired to help provide buildings with clean, fresh outside air without wasting large amounts of energy. They decided to focus on using the Ice9™ materials to 3D print the world’s most efficient energy recovery system and spent two years developing the XPanel™ for commercial buildings. This new focus reignited the team’s passion for clean energy and energy efficient technologies and has resulted in a new mission to decarbonize the heating and cooling of buildings, while also helping to provide fresh, clean air to the occupants.
Thank You To Those That Helped Us Get Here
The research that served as the foundation of TCPoly’s technology was funded through the Georgia Research Alliance (Phase I and II grants) and National Science Foundation (I-Corps program).
In 2018, Matt was awarded an Innovation Crossroads Fellowship through the Department of Energy to work with researchers at Oak Ridge National Labs on further developing the Ice9™ materials.
TCPoly has raised over $3M in non-dilutive funding in addition to a pre-seed investment from Engage Ventures to continue to develop both their materials and printed products.
The National Science Foundation awarded TCPoly Phase I and Phase II SBIR grants to improve the thermal performance and capabilities of their materials. In addition, The Department of Energy has awarded TCPoly Phase I and II STTR grants in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to combine TCPoly’s heat conducting plastics with thermal energy storage materials.
We are incredibly grateful for our funding agencies and supporters for believing in the vision.