Page 38 - Innovation Delaware 2018

ADVANCED MATERIALS/MANUFACTURING
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COMPANY TO WATCH
When chemical researcher Bill Gore left DuPont more than a half century ago
to form his own materials company, W.L. Gore, he did so with the parent
firm’s blessing. When DOUG MCKENNA, a W.L. Gore researcher, was working with a technology that, he says, “fell outside of the company’s interests,” he formed his own company in 2000 to develop it. “I did so with [W.L. Gore’s] support, just as Bill Gore had received DuPont’s support.”
After several years
of experimentation, McKenna’s company, Micropore Inc., developed a product trademarked “ExtendAir.” In essence,
it allows the extension of oxygen supplies in critical situations, some of them military. “Our mission is to make products that make a difference in people’s lives,” says McKenna.
The product’s technology depends on the formation
of reactive plastics that incorporate certain
powders into a molded matrix, resulting in a CO2-
Micropore
absorbing system that is used in “re-breathing” and life support systems.
McKenna estimates that total applications of the product provide several billion dollars’ worth of opportunities. Micropore’s first headline-grabbing application allowed Navy SEAL divers to reduce
the work of breathing by 15 percent while lowering the likelihood of “caustic cocktail” formation — caused when water mixes with a chemical dusting of granular absorbents. Additionally, the product is quick to load and is very resistant to shock and vibration experienced during combat missions.
Other applications
in development include recreational diving, health care, submarine technology, mining and personal safety. McKenna says there are
also potential uses involving industrial gas systems used by the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Additionally, “We’ve just launched a new medical product that is the first major advance in CO2- absorbent technology in almost 100 years,” he says. Called “SpiraLith,” it has pre-formed air passages that avoid dust formation. Dust shortens the life and efficacy of patient breathing systems.
McKenna says Micropore, which has facilities in Newark and nearby Maryland, has profited
from Delaware’s support
36 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
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