Industrial 3D Printing The Focus For New €100 Million Venture Capital Fund

The latest sign of maturation in the industrial 3D printing sector is a major new venture capital fund. The €100 million fund is the first of its kind dedicated to additive manufacturing (AM) and has emerged with its initial closing today.

While the fund itself is new, it’s been a long road for the entities behind it to get to this point. AM Ventures’ Chief Venture Officer Arno Held and Investment Manager Adrian Maier-Ring shared insights into the vision of the venture capital forces that have come together to create the fund. FULL ARTICLE

NASA Successfully Tests 3D Printed Rocket Engine Parts

NASA‘s renewed efforts to return humans to the moon by 2024 has led to advances in new space technologies to improve processes, and reduce costs and development time. In early December 2020, we learned that engineers at the U.S. space agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama successfully hot-fire tested 3D printed components for rocket engines. The copper alloy combustion chamber and nozzle were made of a high-strength, hydrogen-resistant alloy and could withstand the same extreme combustion environments that traditionally manufactured metal structures experience in flight. This huge milestone could pave the way for 3D printed parts aboard new rockets. FULL ARTICLE

2020 NASA Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) Selections

NASA has selected 17 U.S. companies for 20 partnerships to mature industry-developed space technologies for the Moon and beyond through the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s 2020 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO).

The selected proposals are relevant to technology topic areas outlined in the solicitation, including cryogenic fluid management and propulsion; advanced propulsion; sustainable power; in-situ propellant and consumable production; intelligent/resilient systems and advanced robotics; advanced materials and structures; entry, descent, and landing; and small spacecraft technologies.

The selections will result in unfunded Space Act Agreements between the companies and NASA. NASA centers will work with the companies to provide expertise and access to the agency’s unique testing facilities. The total estimated value of agency resources to support the agreements is approximately $15.5 million.

Elementum 3D of Erie, Colorado

Elementum will work with Marshall to increase the performance and reduce the cost of additively manufactured aluminum materials. The partnership aims to advance large-scale directed energy deposition – an additive manufacturing process – of high-strength aluminum alloys for complex rocket components and launch structures. The capability could be used broadly by the aerospace, automotive, and other industries.