Halo awarded Air Force SBIR
February 3, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Halo Materials Awarded AFWERX Contract to Post-Process Graphite Flakes Into Battery Anode Active Material
MENLO PARK, California – Halo Materials, Inc. (Halo) today announced it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase I contract in the amount of $74,656 focused on producing battery-grade graphite for the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. Halo is pleased to partner with AFWERX to tackle critical mineral supply chain challenges for the DAF and strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
“There are fantastic companies working to produce a reliable domestic supply of coated spherical purified graphite for lithium-ion batteries, but process innovation is required to compete with the aggressive pricing of overseas incumbents,” said Darren Hau, CEO and Founder of Halo Materials. “We aim to be part of the solution and partner with others in this emerging ecosystem of domestic graphite producers.”
About Halo Materials, Inc.
Halo is pioneering a novel way to synthesize graphitic materials from abundant, domestic hydrocarbon feedstocks for use in batteries and advanced composites. This new process unlocks production of industrially-relevant volumes of these graphitic products at significantly lower CapEx and OpEx, which in turn enables pricing competitive with overseas incumbents. Halo’s mission is to solve the impending graphite deficit (estimated at over 700,000 tonnes/yr by the 2030’s) and address the national security risks associated with having one country control up to 98% of the supply chain. By reshoring battery-grade graphite production, Halo will help ensure that the trillion-dollar energy transition is American-led. For more information, visit halomaterials.com.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit afwerx.com.
