One of the few companies in the world that produces single-walled carbon nanotubes, or SWCNTs, one of the strongest and smallest materials ever created, is Bengaluru-based NoPo Nanotechnologies.
Story so far: Carbon atoms are arranged in these cylindric patterns in a single layer. This microscopic material possesses a tensile strength over 100 times greater than steel and is 10,000 times thinner than a single strand of human hair. It also has very good thermal and electric conductivity.
- The only business in the world that produces carbon nanotubes with such small dimensions is NoPo.
- The Navy, Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors, and NITI Aayog have already shown interest in it.
About the company: Gadhadar Reddy founded the company in 2011. Reddy was captivated by space as a child. Unlike factories that create durable materials in large reactors, NoPo Nanotechnologies completes all of its manufacturing inside one small building. The company makes products that are kilometres long and compressed for storage.