Luminati Aerospace in body armor deal with DuPont
Luminati Aerospace, the Calverton startup that is building solar-powered aircraft, has signed a technology development agreement with DuPont. June 10, 2016 Credit: Newsday / Chuck Fadely
Luminati Aerospace, the Calverton startup that is building solar-powered aircraft, has signed an agreement with materials giant DuPont to develop technology to make body armor fabrics that are a fraction of the weight of current products, the companies announced Monday.
DuPont’s protection solutions unit will work with the 15-person Long Island company to test fabrication technology that will be presented to the Defense Department in April, the companies said.
The research agreement carries no financial terms, a Luminati spokesman said.
Trials in Calverton will apply Luminati’s composite fabric technology to Kevlar aramid fibers made by Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont. Instead of weaving, Luminati’s process spreads yarns into single-filament tapes, which can produce nonwoven fabrics with up to 80 layers.
The spokesman said the process trims weight by at least half, yet preserves the fabric’s strength.
“Luminati’s technology is a highly unique method of generating 3D ultra-thin-ply textile structures,” Karl Chang, DuPont ballistics applications development scientist, said in a statement.
Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.
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