What SkyNano does

SkyNano is a privately held, science-based materials technology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Louisville, Tennessee, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. The company's core technology captures CO2 from industrial by-product streams and converts it into solid advanced carbon nanomaterials, primarily battery-grade graphite and carbon nanotubes. These materials are positioned for high-performance and mission-critical end uses including advanced vehicles, batteries, protective coatings, composites, and aerospace and defense systems. The company explicitly targets the lack of a robust domestic supply chain for battery-grade graphite, which is currently dominated by Chinese producers, and positions its cost structure as a breakthrough relative to incumbent advanced carbon material pricing.

The business model combines two integrated revenue mechanics: a product line selling advanced carbon materials (battery-grade graphite and carbon nanotubes) to enterprise customers in aerospace, defense, automotive, and battery manufacturing; and a service line capturing excess CO2 from industrial partners, using that captured carbon as feedstock. GTM is enterprise field sales with quote-based, undisclosed B2B pricing and no public list pricing. To date, the company has operated at very small scale (1-10 employees) and is funded primarily through non-dilutive federal grants rather than commercial revenue, with cumulative federal backing exceeding $15M from agencies including ARPA-E, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Space Force, AFWERX, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation.

SkyNano is deeply embedded in the Tennessee research and innovation ecosystem, with strategic relationships to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (including the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences), the University of Tennessee Knoxville Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, Vanderbilt University, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Innovation Crossroads. The company has received the R&D 100 Award, the 2021 Defense Innovation Award from AFWERX/Defense Innovation Unit, and the 2022 Tennessee Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award, signaling external validation across innovation, defense, and sustainability categories. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the firm is best characterized as an early-stage, grant-funded technology developer transitioning from R&D toward commercial pilot production.

Name

SkyNano

Legal name

SkyNano

Website

https://skynanotechnologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SkyNano is a Tennessee-based materials technology company that captures industrial CO2 and converts it into advanced carbon nanomaterials—battery-grade graphite and carbon nanotubes—for sale to enterprise customers in aerospace, defense, automotive, and battery manufacturing. Founded 2017; funded primarily by U.S. federal grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advanced Carbon Nanomaterials Manufacturing

akta.pro primary industry

Carbon‑Based Carbon Materials (graphite, carbon black, CNTs, graphene from CO₂/CO) (EUABAIAG)

Keywords

• Carbon nanotube production
• Battery-grade graphite
• CO2 capture conversion
• Advanced carbon materials
• Industrial emissions processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advanced Carbon Materials Sales: SkyNano generates revenue by selling advanced carbon materials (carbon nanotubes, battery-grade graphite) manufactured from captured CO2. These materials are sold for use in advanced vehicles, protective coatings, composites, batteries, and aerospace and defense systems. The company offers a breakthrough low-cost solution compared to existing high-cost alternatives in the market.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SkyNano operates a CO2-to-carbon conversion technology platform that captures CO2 from industrial by-product streams and transforms it into solid carbon nanomaterials, principally battery-grade graphite and carbon nanotubes. These materials are sold to enterprise customers in aerospace, defense, automotive, and battery manufacturing for high-performance and mission-critical applications. The company also provides CO2 capture services to industrial partners, converting their excess emissions into valuable feedstock.

Product overview

SkyNano is a materials technology company that operates as a single integrated product line focused on converting captured CO2 into advanced carbon nanomaterials. The company's core offerings include battery-grade graphite and carbon nanotubes, which are produced through their proprietary CO2 conversion technology. Their business model combines CO2 capture services for industrial partners with the production and sale of advanced carbon materials for batteries, coatings, composites, and aerospace/defense applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbon Nanotubes Carbon nanotube materials produced through SkyNano's proprietary CO2 conversion technology, delivering strength and multifunctionality for mission-critical applications including faster-charging batteries, advanced vehicles, protective coatings, composites, and aerospace and defense systems. Sold to enterprise customers in aerospace, defense, automotive, and battery manufacturing.
• Battery-Grade Graphite Battery-grade graphite produced from captured industrial CO2, offered as a domestically sourced, cost-competitive alternative to incumbent Chinese-dominated supply. Targeted at advanced-vehicle batteries, energy storage, and other high-performance battery applications.
• CO2 Capture Services Service in which SkyNano takes excess CO2 from industrial emitter partners and uses the captured carbon as feedstock to produce advanced solid carbon materials, providing industrial customers with a value-generating emissions management outlet.

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant cost reduction compared to carbon nanotubes available today
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory Center for Nanophase Materials SciencescoreTechnology or IntegrationResearch partnership for advanced nanomaterials development and characterization, leveraging world-class nanophase materials science capabilities
• UTK Institute for Advanced Materials and ManufacturingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for advanced materials research and manufacturing process development
• US Air ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDefense partnership for developing materials solutions for air force applications and mission requirements
• US Space ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDefense partnership for space-grade materials and components meeting space force specifications
• AFWERXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAir Force innovation program supporting development of dual-use technologies for defense applications
• Office of Naval ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaval research partnership for advanced materials for naval applications and maritime systems
• US NavycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDefense partnership developing materials for naval defense systems and modern warfighter needs
• National Renewable Energy LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy research laboratory partnership supporting renewable energy and advanced materials research
• Vanderbilt UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for materials science research and development collaboration
• Oak Ridge National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational laboratory partnership for advanced materials science and manufacturing research
• University of Tennessee KnoxvilleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for research collaboration and talent development in materials science
• Tennessee Valley AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional utility partnership supporting energy innovation and industrial development in the Tennessee Valley
• Launch TennesseeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-supported startup ecosystem program supporting technology company growth in Tennessee
• UT Spark Innovation CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity innovation center supporting startup development and technology commercialization

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• C2CNT / Carbon Upcycling Technologies: Directly comparable CO2-to-carbon-nanotube technology developer. Both companies convert industrial CO2 emissions into solid carbon nanomaterials (CNTs) using proprietary conversion processes, targeting similar sustainability and advanced materials end markets.
• Global Graphene Group: Advanced carbon nanomaterials (graphene, CNTs) manufacturer targeting batteries, composites, coatings, and aerospace. Closely comparable product portfolio and target end markets to SkyNano, though at a more mature commercial scale.

Broad incumbents

• CarbonCapture Inc. Large-scale direct air capture and CO2 utilization company. While broader in scope (focused on geological sequestration alongside utilization), it shares SkyNano's positioning of CO2 as a feedstock for valuable products and competes for similar federal decarbonization funding.
• Novonix: Public battery-grade synthetic graphite producer serving EV and energy storage customers. Highly comparable end-product focus (battery-grade graphite) and overlap with SkyNano's EV battery customer segment, though Novonix uses traditional feedstocks rather than CO2.
• Talga Resources: Battery anode graphite and graphene producer with vertically integrated mine-to-anode operations. Comparable in serving EV battery customers with graphite products, but uses natural graphite feedstock rather than CO2-derived material.
• SGL Carbon: Established global manufacturer of specialty graphite and carbon products serving automotive, aerospace, defense, and industrial customers. Highly comparable end-product portfolio (graphite, carbon composites) across many of the same downstream segments SkyNano targets.
• Cabot Corporation: Major global producer of carbon black, specialty carbons, and battery materials. Comparable in producing industrial carbon products from feedstocks and serving rubber, battery, and specialty chemical end markets.
• Orion S.A. Global specialty carbon black producer serving coatings, polymers, and battery applications. Comparable in operating a carbon materials manufacturing business at industrial scale, though focused on carbon black rather than graphite or CNTs.

Emerging players

• Archer Materials: Australian advanced materials company developing graphene, carbon nanotube, and quantum computing technologies. Comparable as an emerging player in advanced carbon nanomaterials, though with a different end-product focus (biosensors, electronics).
• Graphenea: Graphene and advanced carbon nanomaterial manufacturer serving electronics, composites, and R&D customers. Comparable in producing specialty carbon materials for advanced applications, at a similar early-to-growth commercial stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SkyNano