Smoltek celebrates 20 years in nanotechnology

Over two decades, Smoltek has developed from a research-driven deep tech company to an industrial player with groundbreaking nanotechnology for both semiconductors and hydrogen – validated by leading global partners and on its way to commercialization.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since the company was founded, and today Smoltek is developing a new generation of energy and cost-efficient capacitors for advanced chips in the semiconductor industry, as well as cost-saving electrodes for electrolyzers and fuel cells in the hydrogen industry.

But let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Here’s what Shafiq Kabir said about why he took the initiative to found the company back in December 2005:

“I founded the company out of scientific curiosity and with the ambition to develop technological solutions based on nanostructures that can be useful in many industrial areas. The reason was my ambition to drive my research results in nanotechnology to create new innovations for use in industry. By switching to research and development on a commercial basis, we wanted to make the possibilities of nanotechnology available on a much larger scale.

20 years of innovation in the service of nanotechnology

Since its inception, Smoltek has methodically built and patented a comprehensive technology platform based on catalytic growth of conductive nanostructures, with much of the component and application development focused on carbon nanofibers and their various properties – which have superior electrical, mechanical and thermal strength.

The technology increases the reaction surface for chemical and electrical processes on a substrate by several magnitudes and enables products that are significantly more compact, energy-efficient and cost-effective than conventional solutions.

For instance, if you were to cover a Rubik’s Cube with Smoltek’s conductive carbon nanofibers, the available surface area for chemical and electrical processes would be as large as a football field. That is the great advantage of Smoltek’s carbon nanotechnology.

Smoltek – brief background and development

Smoltek has built up an extensive IP portfolio and gradually validated the technology. During the early years, the carbon growth process and the first prototypes in semiconductors were developed. Between 2012 and 2016, work was deepened towards semiconductor applications such as interconnects and integrated capacitors. The big breakthrough came in 2017 when the industry showed strong interest in Smoltek’s ultra-thin capacitor technology.

Today, Smoltek is a publicly traded company with three subsidiaries:

Smoltek AB: Holds the company’s intellectual property rights (patents and know-how).
Smoltek Semi AB: Drives development within semiconductors and develops extremely miniaturized capacitors (CNF-MIM) with high performance intended to be placed in advanced chips where space is minimal and requirements are high. The customers for these capacitors consist of a few very large manufacturers of advanced semiconductor components.
Smoltek Hydrogen AB: Develops solutions for the hydrogen industry. In particular, the company develops electrodes intended for electrolyzers and fuel cells in the hydrogen industry with a technology that maximizes the use of expensive precious metals while reducing the contact resistance between different metal layers. The customers are found among component manufacturers in the hydrogen industry.

The possibilities of the nanotechnology platform

Smoltek develops applications based on nanotechnology to solve advanced material engineering challenges. By growing nanostructures directly on a material, the contact surface can be increased tens of thousands of times.

Properties of carbon nanofibers

Three-dimensional effect that maximizes the available surface area for a given substrate
Equivalent surface area expands x‑fold
Excellent electrical conductivity
Excellent mechanical properties
Excellent thermal properties
Enables higher power in circuits (semiconductors)
Enables lower energy consumption (semiconductors)
Enables smaller form factors (semiconductors)
Reduces the proportion of catalyst particles (hydrogen)
Increases proton throughput (hydrogen)
Maximizes the utilization of catalysts (hydrogen)
Reduces the contact resistance between different metal layers (hydrogen)
Increases the available surface area for chemical and physical processes
Creates new opportunities for material engineering challenges
Substrate independence – carbon atom growth possible on most industrial substrates

Industrial technology areas possible for Smoltek’s nanotechnology

Miniaturized capacitors (semiconductors)
Interconnects (semiconductors)
Thermal dissipation (semiconductors)
Antireflective surfaces (semiconductors)
Electrolyzer electrodes (hydrogen)
Electrolyzer fuel cells electrodes (hydrogen)
Energy storage (battery technology)
Biosensors (medical technology)

Smoltek Milestones

Year	Milestone
2005	First core patent filed.
2006	Selective carbon nanofiber growth on silicon.
2007	Smoltek boosts the development activities at the MC2 laboratory at the Chalmers University of Technology.
2008	Carbon nanofiber growth on ASIC chip (an integrated circuit with a specific function).
2009	Patent platform in place, several patents filed. Carbon nanofiber growth on a silicon carbide device (SiC – a power module with a wide band gap that provides low coupling losses and high switching frequencies).
2010	First customer project, initiated from the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. Development of carbon nanofiber interconnects in an RF device (interconnected structures for regulating radio frequencies/oscillation rates of electromagnetic waves).
2011	Develops controlled growth of carbon nanofibers at only 390°C, meaning Smoltek has now achieved CMOS compatibility (industry standard in semiconductors).
2012	Significant increase in growth rate of carbon nanofibers in vacuum chamber. Obtains proof of CMOS compatibility (industry standard) for carbon growth concept.
2013	Intensification of R&D focus on capacitors. Agreement on industrial process development for growth of carbon nanofibers.
2014	First prototype of a supercapacitor (a chemical capacitor with very high capacitance that can store very high electrical charges) based on Smoltek’s carbon nanofibers developed.
2015	First prototype of an integrated carbon nanofiber-based capacitor (capacitor in an integrated circuit – protects the circuit from noise that can affect its performance and prevents the circuit from transmitting noise that can in turn affect the performance of other circuits) based on Smoltek’s carbon nanofibers developed.
2016	3D electrodes based on Smoltek’s carbon nanofibers developed.
2017	The semiconductor industry is showing great interest in Smoltek’s capacitor technology, which can enable further miniaturization of chips while maintaining or improving performance. Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB is formed and the company is prepared for an IPO.
2018	Smotek Nanotech Holding AB is listed on Spotlight Stock Market in Stockholm, Sweden. The capacitance (per unit area) of our carbon-based (CNF-MIM) capacitors is doubled, making the technology very attractive to the semiconductor industry.
2019	Continuous progress with CNF-MIM technology. Capacitance is increased to 650 nF/square millimeter and internal resistance is kept below 40 mΩ, showing performance comparable to other solutions at a fraction of their build height. Smoltek Semi AB is formed, to handle licensing agreements with the semiconductor industry.
2020	Smoltek Semi sings a license agreements for the evaluation of the CNF-MIM technology. Smoltek Innovation (Hydrogen) AB is formed as a new subsidiary to bring Smoltek’s revolutionizing nanotechnology to new markets. The main area is the hydrogen industry, where our technology can be used for energy conversion and energy storage.
2021	Smoltek Semi manufactures the “world’s thinnest capacitor” – a prototype of a fully functional CNF-MIM capacitor with a total height of 38.2 µm (including the necessary substrate). Smoltek Hydrogen has focus on Proof-of-Concept testing of a new nanofiber-based cell material for PEM electrolyzers.
2022	Smoltek Semi signs a Joint Development Agreement with global capacitor giant Yageo group to commercialize ultra-thin decoupling capacitors for application processors. Smoltek Hydrogen signs a collaboration agreement with an international manufacturer of advanced materials for electrolyzers. This includes the joint construction of PEM electrolyzer cell prototypes to show that the performance significantly improves with our carbon nanofibers.
2023	Smoltek Semi develops a manufacturing process for 8‑inch wafers intended to produce industrially manufactured CNF-MIM capacitor prototypes in high volumes. Smoltek Hydrogen shows that the carbon nanofiber-based electrode for electrolyzers produces as much hydrogen with only 0.5 mg of iridium per square centimeter as a commercial standard material with 2.5 mg of iridium per square centimeter.
2024	Smotek Semi takes a major step forward in the development of CNF-MIM capacitor technology by introducing Gen-Zero – a new way to build high capacitance capacitors in a small footprint. This allows Smoltek to create a volumetric capacitance density of up to 120 nanofarads per square millimeter and per micrometer of nanofiber. Smoltek Hydrogen proves, in a 1,000-hour durability test, that the PTE (porous transport electrode) technology can produce hydrogen with a catalyst load of only 0,2 mg Iridium per square centimeter. The PTE technology is also validated by Dr. Felix Büchi, a highly regarded expert on PEM electrolysis.
2025	Smoltek Semi signs a technical service agreement with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) for small-scale production of CNF-MIM capacitors. The agreement enables low-volume production of CNF-MIM capacitors, both industrially manufactured prototypes for customer tests and industrialized capacitors in smaller volumes for specialized customer projects. During the year, the CNF-MIM technology has successfully passed a 1,000-hour high-temperature durability test, confirming the robustness of the technology for advanced applications. Smoltek Hydrogen and Heraeus Precious Metals are initiating a joint development project in hydrogen technology to develop low iridium PTE electrodes (Porous Transport Electrode) for PEM electrolyzers. The company is also initiating a strategic collaboration with Impact Coatings with the ambition to jointly evaluate the possibilities of industrializing and scaling up Smoltek’s patented carbon nanofiber (CNF) technology for use in, among other things, PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells.

Two decades of pioneering research and IP development have laid the foundation for Smoltek’s next phase—commercializing advanced nanotechnology solutions for the semiconductor and green-energy industries.

“Looking ahead, we see enormous potential in applying our nanotechnology to real-world problems. Everything we have learned—from the earliest experiments to today’s industrial collaborations—has prepared us for this moment. We are entering a phase where technology, market need, and capability align.”
Dr. Shafiq Kabir, founder and VP Volume Processes at Smoltek Hydrogen.

Read the official press release about Smoltek turning 20: Smoltek Marks 20 Years of Nanotechnology Innovation and Looks Ahead to an Era of Scalable Applications.