Vitriform3D is a composite materials development company focused on harnessing glass bottle and solar panel waste to create the next generation of low embodied carbon building materials.
You spend most of your life in buildings, but how often do stop to consider the environmental impact of those buildings? The materials used in our buildings cause 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and much of this comes from concrete and other hard surfaces. Architects are increasingly switching over to more sustainable material options, and the green construction market has grown to over $110BN with a 12% CAGR. However, low-embodied carbon options for concrete-like materials remain limited. At Vitriform3D, we are solving this challenge by harnessing low-value scrap materials to create the next generation of low-carbon tiles and wall paneling. Right now in the U.S. over 2/3 of glass waste goes to the landfill each year due to high transportation costs, low scrap value, and contamination issues. Vitriform3D's patent pending method of 3D printing converts readily available, low-quality glass scrap into low-carbon engineered stone for applications such as tiles, interior surfaces and exterior cladding. Our 3D printed building materials have 4x lower embodied carbon than kiln fired ceramic tile or fiber cement paneling. Our printing technology also enables 3D texturing and full-color graphics, perfect for custom accent walls and mass customized wall tile patterns. Tiles produced via our patent-pending process can be priced competitively against mid-market tile with built-in design flexibility that competitors can only achieve via custom machined molds or costly CNC machining. A single large format printer will divert 1000 tons of glass per year from landfill, equivalent to all of the glass currently collected by Knoxville.
The two cofounders of the Vitriform3D team are Dr. Alex Stiles and Dr. Dustin Gilmer. Alex is the CEO of Vitriform3D and has a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Energy Science and Engineering. He previously founded Samambu, LLC, a bamboo fiber composites company, and holds four patents. During the past 8 years, he has had a specific research focus on UV-curing polymers for use in 3D printing, which led to the creation of the patent-pending technology used by Vitriform3D. Dustin is the Principal Science Advisor to Vitriform3D and an Assistant Professor in Material Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He spent five years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory researching binder formulations for binder jet 3D printing and has multiple peer-reviewed publications on the subject. Dustin has won an R&D 100 award and holds two patents.
Vitriform3D's goal is to develop technology in house and scale up via licensing through manufacturing partners, with only short-run custom product lines produced in house. We plan to go to market primarily through wholesale and partner sales channels, which is a common approach for most tile manufacturers. Our most recent recycled glass coaster product line is an example of this approach. The coasters were specifically launched through Fourth and Glass Recycling Co., whose brand is focused on home goods sold direct to consumer via an ecommerce platform. The original materials processing know-how was developed by Vitriform3D, but Fourth and Glass will manage production scale-up, marketing, sales, and distribution. Future collaborations will target larger tile production runs with well-known luxury tile brands such as Zia Tile, Anthology Tile, or Ann Sacks Tile. We have consulted with all of the companies and have used their feedback in our tile development process to better meet their needs - especially their need for tile to be fully non-porous and easy to clean. We plan to launch a luxury tile line in 2025, in collaboration with one of these tile brands or another boutique tile brand. Since most tile brands do not produce their own tile, we anticipate the following potential go-to-market scenario: materials and technology development from Vitriform3D, production capacity from Fourth and Glass, and sales/marketing/distribution from the luxury tile brand.
Vitriform3D will generate revenue primarily via licensing fees and royalties for the new sustainable materials, processing methods, and technology it is developing. It will also generate revenue via short-run projects that require more specialized expertise, such as 3D printed tooling and contract materials development and testing efforts. The long-term goal of Vitriform3D is to leverage our materials development expertise to introduce a wide range of sustainable building products, then license the IP to other manufacturing partners and provide contract support to help with scale-up and launch for these products.
We are seeking $500k in seed funding and assistance with strategic partnerships from an angel investor group. The funds will be used to build out Vitriform3D's R&D lab in Knoxville, TN and provide a two year runway for us to secure and execute our first commercial tile licensing contracts. This includes rent on a 2,000 sq. ft. lab space and salaries for a full-time engineer, part-time business development manager, and interns. Seed funds will not be used to compensate the cofounders, Alex and Dustin, who receive stipends through DOE grants (Alex) and university employment (Dustin). Funds will also be used to cover lease payments on testing equipment and short-run production equipment to fulfill material development contracts as part of the licensee acquisition process. In addition to funding, our desired equity investors will be well-connected within the building materials space, especially in the luxury home goods and tile markets. Their assistance will be instrumental in helping Vitriform3D to connect with potential licensee tile brands and in negotiating the licensing contracts that will provide long term revenue for Vitriform3D. These potential licensees may also serve as future acquisition partners as our investors seek a successful exit.
We have been developing our technology over the past three years, building out the underlying IP and glass processing. In 2023, we started a sister company, Fourth and Glass Recycling Co., which collects glass from over 150 paying subscribers in the Knoxville area to ensure a consistent supply of waste glass for our processing. Once collected, we then crush this glass with a hammermill and run the crushed glass through several sieving stages to achieve the optimal glass particle size for our 3D printing process. Once the glass is crushed, sorted, and sieved, we then have two production methods for converting the glass into the final tile product. The first method is to mix the glass powder with resin and pigments and press the mixture into a tile via compression molding. These tiles are cut, polished, and sealed prior to shipping. In November 2024, we launched a coaster product line through Fourth and Glass as an early market test and have sold over 100 coasters to date. Our current 50 ton hydraulic press is capable of producing tile up to 12" x 12". Our second tile production method uses 3D printing to convert the recycled glass powder into tiles with complex and customizable geometries. This process involves adding precise droplets of binder into a bed of glass powder to build out the tile pattern. This process is currently under development on several small-scale 3D printers, with plans to scale up to a 24" x 36" tile by late 2025.
Innovation Crossroads Cohort 6 (2022-2024) - $450,000 grant DOE Technology Commercialization Fund (2024-2026) - $630,000 grant Michigan EGLE Fund (2025-2026) - $300,000 grant
