ThermAvant

What ThermAvant does

ThermAvant Technologies is a Columbia, Missouri-based designer and manufacturer of Oscillating Heat Pipe (OHP) thermal-management solutions for mission-critical aerospace, defense, government, and high-tech applications. Founded in 2007 and operating a 45,000-square-foot AS9100D/ISO9001-certified, ITAR-compliant manufacturing facility, the company sells a portfolio of embedded OHP products (Heat Frames, Chassis, Radiators, Cold Plates, Transporters, and Payload Spreaders) alongside engineering services spanning Concept Design Reviews through End Item Data Packages. Customer acquisition is conducted via direct enterprise sales to prime contractors, satellite operators, and government agencies.

The company's OHP technology is a pump-free, passive heat-transfer device that uses two-phase fluid oscillation through internal microchannel arrays to achieve up to 100x the thermal conductivity of the base material, gravity-insensitivity from 0 to 10 G, form factors from under 1 mm to over 1 meter, mass reductions of ~30% versus conventional Constant Conductance Heat Pipe systems, and heat flux handling up to 300 W/cm². ThermAvant holds a patent-pending proprietary method for powder removal in laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) metal OHPs that addresses internal channel aspect ratios exceeding 4500:1, and is developing high-temperature OHPs targeting 1300 K operation under NASA Phase II SBIR funding. The technology base is supported by more than $50M in cumulative R&D investment and validated by over 10 million on-orbit operating hours since the first AFRL ASETS II flight aboard the X-37B in 2017.

ThermAvant monetizes primarily through custom OHP hardware sales and project-based engineering services, with pricing structured quote-by-quote given the custom nature of mission-critical thermal solutions. Key customer and partner relationships include Albedo (VLEO satellite constellation), MDA Space (supplier into the MDA AURORA line supporting Telesat's Lightspeed LEO constellation), Maxar Technologies/Intuitive Machines (production program), AFRL and NASA Glenn Research Center (government R&D and SBIR), and the Lunar Surface Rover Program. Additional growth vectors include a 2025 ES2 Consortium entry into data-center electronics cooling and a 2024 AFRL Regional Network Midwest registration to deepen defense-supply-chain ties.

Name

ThermAvant

Legal name

ThermAvant Technologies

Website

https://thermavant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ThermAvant Technologies designs, manufactures, and sells Oscillating Heat Pipe (OHP) thermal management hardware and engineering services for aerospace, defense, government, and high-tech customers requiring passive, high-performance cooling in space, airborne, and high-temperature applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom OHP Hardware Sales: Sale of custom-manufactured oscillating heat pipe products including OHP Heat Frames, OHP Chassis, OHP Radiators, and Cold Plates. Products are designed and manufactured to customer specifications for mission-critical aerospace, defense, and space applications. Manufacturing includes CNC milling, aluminum vacuum braze ovens, precision presses, laser welders, and proprietary fluid processing and quality assurance.
2. Engineering Services: Design and engineering services including Concept Design Reviews through End Item Data Packages. Services include design consultation, thermal modeling, limits analysis, and custom solution development for specific customer applications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ThermAvant designs, develops, and manufactures custom Oscillating Heat Pipe (OHP) thermal management hardware for mission-critical aerospace, defense, and high-temperature applications. The company sells OHP-based products (Heat Frames, Chassis, Radiators, Cold Plates, Transporters, Payload Spreaders) and provides engineering design, manufacturing, and testing services from its AS9100D/ISO 9001-certified 45,000-square-foot facility in Columbia, Missouri.

Product overview

ThermAvant is the world's leading developer and manufacturer of oscillating heat pipe (OHP) technology. Their product portfolio consists of embedded OHP thermal solutions designed to maximize thermal-mechanical performance while minimizing Size, Weight, Power plus Cost (SWaP-C). The product line includes OHP Heat Frames, OHP Chassis, OHP Radiators, and Cold Plates—each incorporating oscillating heat pipe technology into structural components. Supporting products include OHP Transporters for 3D heat routing and OHP Payload Spreaders for device-level heat spreading. The company also offers comprehensive design, manufacturing, and testing services from their 45,000-square-foot ISO 9001/AS9100D-certified facility in Columbia, MO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OHP Heat Frames Oscillating heat pipe heat frames designed for thin, lightweight thermal management in mission-critical aerospace and defense applications.
• OHP Chassis Oscillating heat pipe chassis products providing integrated thermal-mechanical solutions for aerospace and defense platforms.
• OHP Radiators Oscillating heat pipe radiators that provide isothermal heat rejection from spacecraft bus structures to deep space, enabling passive thermal control for space applications.
• Cold Plates Cold plate products with integrated oscillating heat pipe technology for high heat flux thermal management in electronics and power systems.
• OHP Transporters Three-dimensional heat transfer devices that move thermal energy from payloads to radiators within spacecraft bus structures, providing heat flow across meter-scale distances.
• OHP Payload Spreaders In-plane heat spreading devices that integrate directly into baseplates for thermal management of critical electronic devices at the payload level.
• Engineering and Design Services Design and engineering services ranging from Concept Design Reviews through End Item Data Packages, including thermal modeling, limits analysis, and custom solution development for mission-critical customer applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% less mass than conventional CCHP-based thermal control systems
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2) ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2025ThermAvant joined the ES2 consortium hosted by Villanova University, which brings together industry leaders, academic researchers, and government agencies to drive advancements in energy-efficient electronics and thermal management. ThermAvant will focus OHP technology on data center electronic systems needs in collaboration with university partners.
• AFRL Regional NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2024ThermAvant registered with the AFRL Regional Network - Midwest region, strengthening engagement with Air Force Research Laboratory and regional defense ecosystem.
• NASA Glenn Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 August 2024NASA awarded ThermAvant an $898,299 Phase II SBIR grant for development of High Temperature Oscillating Heat Pipe Transport System. Phase I demonstrated 3-meter OHP at temperatures exceeding 800°C with 110 W/K thermal conductance. Phase II targets 1300K operating temperatures for space nuclear applications.
• MDA SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2024ThermAvant was selected by MDA Space as part of the MDA AURORA supply chain - a game-changing software-defined satellite product line. ThermAvant provides engineering services and manufactured OHP-based thermal-mechanical hardware solutions. The partnership supports MDA AURORA deliveries for anchor customer Telesat's Lightspeed LEO satellite constellation.
• Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017AFRL Space Vehicle's Directorate supported ThermAvant's first on-orbit OHPs in 2017 via the ASETS II experiment aboard the X-37B spaceplane. This government partnership has been foundational to ThermAvant's technology validation and continues through ongoing SBIR programs and production contracts.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Heatric (Chart Industries): Broader incumbent in heat exchangers and thermal transfer equipment with aerospace and industrial exposure. Heatric's printed-circuit heat exchangers address similar high-performance aerospace and energy thermal management problems and represent a larger, well-funded competitive option for prime contractors.
• Boyd Corporation (Aavid): Broader thermal management incumbent producing cold plates, heat exchangers, and cooling solutions across aerospace, defense, and electronics. Boyd overlaps with ThermAvant's cold plate and electronics cooling product lines and represents a larger, more diversified competitor in adjacent markets.
• Mersen: Broader thermal management incumbent offering heat exchangers, cold plates, and cooling solutions for aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Mersen competes with ThermAvant at the thermal hardware level on aerospace and high-power electronics applications.
• Lockheed Martin Space: Broad incumbent prime contractor that designs and integrates its own spacecraft thermal control solutions. While not a direct competitor on standalone OHP hardware, Lockheed is both a potential customer and a competitor to ThermAvant for in-house thermal management on government space programs.
• Honeywell Aerospace: Broad incumbent supplying thermal management and environmental control systems across aircraft, spacecraft, and defense platforms. Honeywell competes with ThermAvant at the system level for airborne and space thermal control, especially on larger prime contractor platforms.
• Northrop Grumman Space Systems: Broad incumbent prime with significant in-house thermal management capability for spacecraft and defense systems. Northrop competes for thermal subsystem integration on large government programs and also sources thermal hardware from suppliers like ThermAvant.

Direct peers

• Marlow Industries (Coherent): Direct peer in precision thermal management including thermoelectric coolers and heat pipes for aerospace and defense. Marlow supplies thermal solutions into satellite, avionics, and defense electronics and overlaps with ThermAvant in mission-critical aerospace thermal management.
• Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT): Direct peer in custom heat pipe and two-phase thermal management for aerospace, defense, and electronics. Like ThermAvant, ACT designs and manufactures heat pipes, heat exchangers, and cold plates for space and high-reliability applications and competes for many of the same satellite and airborne thermal management programs.
• Thermacore (a brand of Lytron): Direct peer specializing in heat pipes, vapor chambers, and cold plates for aerospace and electronics cooling. Thermacore serves satellite, avionics, and high-performance electronics customers and overlaps with ThermAvant on heat-pipe-based thermal control solutions.
• Roccor (Redwire Space): Direct peer in deployable and passive thermal management structures for small satellites and spacecraft. Roccor's thermal products (heat pipes, radiators, deployable booms) compete directly with ThermAvant's OHP radiators and chassis in the NewSpace and smallsat markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ThermAvant
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thermavant
• Xx.com/thermavant12

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 ThermAvant