---
title: "Why Smoltek doubles down on qualified research"
canonical_url: "https://www.smoltek.com/why-smoltek-doubles-down-on-qualified-research/7800/"
date: 2024-09-05
author: "Thomas Barregren"
featured_image: "https://www.smoltek.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/happy-explorer.webp"
categories:
  - name: "IR Blog Posts"
    url: "https://www.smoltek.com/category/ir-blog-posts.md"
tags:
  - name: "R&D Evaluation Matrix"
    url: "https://www.smoltek.com/topic/rd-evaluation-matrix.md"
---

# Why Smoltek doubles down on qualified research

If you haven’t read the blog post about the [*R&D Eval­u­a­tion Matrix*](https://www.smoltek.com/investors/blog/different-meanings-of-research-and-development/7788/), I high­ly rec­om­mend you start there. It’s a straight­for­ward mod­el that helps eval­u­ate where com­pa­nies fall regard­ing their inno­va­tion approach. No quad­rant is bet­ter than anoth­er. The impor­tant thing is that the com­pa­ny you eval­u­ate is where you think it should be. So, where does Smoltek fit? Clear­ly, Smoltek is an *Explor­er*. And there are sev­er­al rea­sons why.

## [](https://www.smoltek.com#smolteks-business-model)Smoltek’s business model

Smoltek’s core busi­ness is root­ed in high­ly spe­cial­ized sci­en­tif­ic research aimed at over­com­ing com­plex mate­ri­als tech­nol­o­gy chal­lenges across var­i­ous indus­tries using our pro­pri­etary [car­bon nanos­truc­tures](https://www.smoltek.com/technology/carbon-nanotechnology/).

What makes our approach tru­ly unique is our abil­i­ty to grow car­bon nanofibers with extra­or­di­nary pre­ci­sion, posi­tion­ing them exact­ly where need­ed. We can cul­ti­vate extreme­ly thin car­bon nanofibers and nan­otubes while ensur­ing they main­tain an elec­tri­cal con­nec­tion with the under­ly­ing sub­strate. This isn’t just an incre­men­tal improve­ment; it’s a dis­rup­tive inno­va­tion that has the poten­tial to rede­fine entire prod­uct categories.

When Smoltek iden­ti­fies a prob­lem that our tech­nol­o­gy unique­ly can address—whether minia­tur­iz­ing capac­i­tors for the elec­tron­ics indus­try or dras­ti­cal­ly reduc­ing the amount of rare and cost­ly irid­i­um in electrolyzers—we estab­lish a ded­i­cat­ed sub­sidiary to focus exclu­sive­ly on that challenge.

These sub­sidiaries con­tin­ue the crit­i­cal sci­en­tif­ic research need­ed to tack­le spe­cif­ic obsta­cles unique to their appli­ca­tion. Ques­tions like “How do we grow car­bon nanofibers on mate­ri­als oth­er than sil­i­con?” or “How do we pro­tect car­bon nanofibers from cor­ro­sion?” are at the heart of our work. These are not triv­ial prob­lems, and solv­ing them requires world-class research and a com­mit­ment to push­ing the bound­aries of what’s possible.

This tech­nol­o­gy has already attract­ed the atten­tion of some of the most for­ward-think­ing com­pa­nies glob­al­ly. While we can’t name names, our research aligns with the kind of inno­va­tion that indus­try giants look for.

### Smoltek’s scientific articles and conference papers

[Com­pat­i­bil­i­ty Assess­ment of CVD growth of Car­bon nanofibers on bulkC­MOS devices](https://www.smoltek.com/compatibility-assessment-of-cvd-growth-of-carbon-nanofibers-on-bulkcmos-devices/979/)

[Car­bon nanos­truc­tures per­form high aspect ratio nanoimprinting](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanostructures-perform-high-aspect-ratio-nanoimprinting/977/)

[Nanoim­print lith­o­g­ra­phy using ver­ti­cal­ly aligned car­bon nanos­truc­tures as stamp](https://www.smoltek.com/nanoimprint-lithography-using-vertically-aligned-carbon-nanostructures-as-stamp/975/)

[A Test Vehi­cle for RF/​​DC Eval­u­a­tion and Destruc­tive Test­ing Of Ver­ti­cal­ly Grown Nanos­truc­tures (VGCNS)](https://www.smoltek.com/a-test-vehicle-for-rf-dc-evaluation-and-destructive-testing-of-vertically-grown-nanostructures-vgcns/973/)

[Car­bon nan­otubes as elec­trode for supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanotubes-as-electrode-for-supercapacitors/970/)

[Is it time to Rein­force In-pack­age Sol­der Joints Using CNF?](https://www.smoltek.com/is-it-time-to-reinforce-in-package-solder-joints-using-cnf/965/)

[Embed­ded Fibers Enhance Nano-Scale Interconnections](https://www.smoltek.com/embedded-fibers-enhance-nano-scale-interconnections/7785/)

[Car­bon nanotubes/​​nanofibers com­pos­ites from cel­lu­lose for supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanotubes-nanofibers-composites-from-cellulose-for-supercapacitors/956/)

[Car­bon Nanotubes/​​Nanofibers Com­pos­ites from Cel­lu­lose as Elec­trodes for Sus­tain­able Ener­gy Devices](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanotubes-nanofibers-composites-from-cellulose-as-electrodes-for-sustainable-energy-devices/961/)

[Car­bon Nan­otube Based Ridge Gap Res­onator for 220–325 GHz](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanotube-based-ridge-gap-resonator-for-220-325-ghz/963/)

[Car­bon Nan­otubes as base Mate­r­i­al for Fab­ri­ca­tion of Gap Wave­guide Components](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanotubes-as-base-material-for-fabrication-of-gap-waveguide-components/7709/)

[Car­bon Nanofibers (CNF) for enhanced sol­der-based nano-scale inte­gra­tion and on-chip inter­con­nect solutions](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanofibers-cnf-for-enhanced-solder-based-nano-scale-integration-and-on-chip-interconnect-solutions/959/)

[Car­bon Nanofibers (CNF) for Enhanced Sol­der-based Nano-Scale Inter­con­nects and Pack­ag­ing Solutions](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanofibers-cnf-for-enhanced-solder-based-nano-scale-interconnects-and-packaging-solutions/967/)

[Low tem­per­a­ture and cost-effec­tive growth of ver­ti­cal­ly aligned car­bon nanofibers using spin-coat­ed poly­mer-sta­bi­lized pal­la­di­um nanocatalysts](https://www.smoltek.com/low-temperature-and-cost-effective-growth-of-vertically-aligned-carbon-nanofibers-using-spin-coated-polymer-stabilized-palladium-nanocatalysts/952/)

[CMOS com­pat­i­ble on-chip decou­pling capac­i­tor based on ver­ti­cal­ly aligned car­bon nanofibers](https://www.smoltek.com/cmos-compatible-on-chip-decoupling-capacitor-based-on-vertically-aligned-carbon-nanofibers/954/)

[Exam­in­ing Car­bon Nanofibers: Prop­er­ties, growth, and applications](https://www.smoltek.com/examining-carbon-nanofibers-properties-growth-and-applications/950/)

[Hier­ar­chi­cal cel­lu­lose-derived car­bon nanocom­pos­ites for elec­tro­sta­t­ic ener­gy storage](https://www.smoltek.com/hierarchical-cellulose-derived-carbon-nanocomposites-for-electrostatic-energy-storage/948/)

[Devel­op­ment of Super­ca­pac­i­tor based on car­bon nanos­truc­tures as elec­trode materials](https://www.smoltek.com/development-of-supercapacitor-based-on-carbon-nanostructures-as-electrode-materials/943/)

[Per­for­mance Enhance­ment of Car­bon Nano­ma­te­ri­als for Supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/performance-enhancement-of-carbon-nanomaterials-for-supercapacitors/940/)

[Hier­ar­chi­cal cel­lu­lose-derived CNF/​​CNT com­pos­ites for elec­tro­sta­t­ic ener­gy storage](https://www.smoltek.com/hierarchical-cellulose-derived-cnf-cnt-composites-for-electrostatic-energy-storage/938/)

[Car­bon nano­ma­te­r­i­al-based inter­con­nects, inte­grat­ed capac­i­tors and supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/carbon-nanomaterial-based-interconnects-integrated-capacitors-and-supercapacitors/932/)

[Coin-cell Super­ca­pac­i­tors Based on CVD Grown and Ver­ti­cal­ly Aligned Car­bon Nanofibers (VAC­N­Fs)](https://www.smoltek.com/coin-cell-supercapacitors-based-on-cvd-grown-and-vertically-aligned-carbon-nanofibers-vacnfs/930/)

[Inte­grat­ed sol­id-state capac­i­tors based on car­bon nanostructures](https://www.smoltek.com/integrated-solid-state-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanostructures/928/)

[On-Chip Inte­grat­ed Sol­id-State Micro-Supercapacitor](https://www.smoltek.com/on-chip-integrated-solid-state-micro-supercapacitor/925/)

[Inte­grat­ed on-chip sol­id state capac­i­tor based on ver­ti­cal­ly aligned nanofibers, grown using a CMOS tem­per­a­ture com­pat­i­ble process](https://www.smoltek.com/integrated-on-chip-solid-state-capacitor-based-on-vertically-aligned-nanofibers-grown-using-a-cmos-temperature-compatible-process/923/)

[Nanopar­ti­cles-enabled low tem­per­a­ture growth of car­bon nanofibers and their prop­er­ties for supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/nanoparticles-enabled-low-temperature-growth-of-carbon-nanofibers-and-their-properties-for-supercapacitors/921/)

[Inte­grat­ed ful­ly sol­id-state capac­i­tor based on car­bon nanofibers and dielectrics](https://www.smoltek.com/integrated-fully-solid-state-capacitor-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-and-dielectrics/915/)

[Direct Elec­tri­cal and Mechan­i­cal Char­ac­ter­i­za­tion of Car­bon Nanofibers Turf Using a Probe Card and Nanoindentation](https://www.smoltek.com/direct-electrical-and-mechanical-characterization-of-carbon-nanofibers-turf-using-a-probe-card-and-nanoindentation/917/)

[On-chip sol­id-state CMOS com­pat­i­ble micro-supercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/on-chip-solid-state-cmos-compatible-micro-supercapacitors/919/)

[Ful­ly Sol­id-State Inte­grat­ed Capac­i­tors Based on Car­bon Nanofibers and Dielectrics with Spe­cif­ic Capac­i­tances High­er Than 200 nF/​​mm2](https://www.smoltek.com/fully-solid-state-integrated-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-and-dielectrics-with-specific-capacitances-higher-than-200-nf-mm2/910/)

[Inte­grat­ed and Dis­crete Capac­i­tors Based on Car­bon Nanos­truc­tures with Capac­i­tance Den­si­ties in Excess of 350 nF/​​mm2](https://www.smoltek.com/integrated-and-discrete-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanostructures-with-capacitance-densities-in-excess-of-350-nf-mm2/913/)

[Ultra-Thin Capac­i­tors based on Car­bon nanofibers with Ultra-High Capac­i­tance Density](https://www.smoltek.com/ultra-thin-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-with-ultra-high-capacitance-density/907/)

[Inte­grat­ed and Dis­crete Ultra-Thin Capac­i­tors Based on Car­bon Nanofibers with High Capac­i­tance Density](https://www.smoltek.com/integrated-and-discrete-ultra-thin-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-with-high-capacitance-density/903/)

[Robust­ness of car­bon nanofiber-based MIM capac­i­tors with ultra-high capac­i­tance den­si­ty to elec­tri­cal and ther­mal stress](https://www.smoltek.com/robustness-of-carbon-nanofiber-based-mim-capacitors-with-ultra-high-capacitance-density-to-electrical-and-thermal-stress/905/)

[Ultra­thin High-Den­si­ty Capac­i­tors based on Car­bon Nanofibers Fab­ri­cat­ed on Sil­i­con, Alu­mi­na and Glass Inter­pos­er Materials](https://www.smoltek.com/ultrathin-high-density-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-fabricated-on-silicon-alumina-and-glass-interposer-materials/897/)

[Elec­tri­cal Per­for­mance and Robust­ness of Ultra­thin High-Den­si­ty Car­bon Nanofiber Capac­i­tors on Sil­i­con, Alu­mi­na and Glass Sub­strate Materials](https://www.smoltek.com/electrical-performance-and-robustness-of-ultrathin-high-density-carbon-nanofiber-capacitors-on-silicon-alumina-and-glass-substrate-materials/7763/)

[Impact of elec­trode geom­e­try and thick­ness on pla­nar on-chip microsupercapacitors](https://www.smoltek.com/impact-of-electrode-geometry-and-thickness-on-planar-on-chip-microsupercapacitors/7766/)

[High-fre­quen­cy elec­tri­cal cir­cuit mod­el for inte­grat­ed capac­i­tors uti­liz­ing lossy nanostructures](https://www.smoltek.com/high-frequency-electrical-circuit-model-for-integrated-capacitors-utilizing-lossy-nanostructures/840/)

[Reli­a­bil­i­ty, sol­der­abil­i­ty and elec­tri­cal per­for­mance of high den­si­ty ultra thin capac­i­tors based on car­bon nanofibers](https://www.smoltek.com/reliability-solderability-and-electrical-performance-of-high-density-ultra-thin-capacitors-based-on-carbon-nanofibers/865/)

[Flip chip inter­con­nects based on car­bon nanofibers-sol­der composites](https://www.smoltek.com/flip-chip-interconnects-based-on-carbon-nanofibers-solder-composites/892/)

[CNF-MIM Tech­nol­o­gy, Enabling the Worlds Thinnest Capacitor](https://www.smoltek.com/cnf-mim-technology-enabling-the-worlds-thinnest-capacitor/7714/)

[Ver­ti­cal­ly aligned car­bon nanofibers promise more cost-effi­cient PEM water electrolyzers](https://www.smoltek.com/vertically-aligned-carbon-nanofibers-promise-more-cost-efficient-pem-water-electrolyzers/7718/)

[Toward Low Load­ing and High Uti­liza­tion Ratio of Irid­i­um Cat­a­lyst for PEM Water Elec­trolyz­ers Using Smoltek Car­bon Nanofibers](https://www.smoltek.com/toward-low-loading-and-high-utilization-ratio-of-iridium-catalyst-for-pem-water-electrolyzers-using-smoltek-carbon-nanofibers/7722/)

[Low Load­ing and High Uti­liza­tion Ratio of Irid­i­um Cat­a­lyst Coat­ed Smoltek Car­bon Nanofibers Used as Anode Mate­r­i­al for PEM Water Electrolyzers](https://www.smoltek.com/low-loading-and-high-utilization-ratio-of-iridium-catalyst-coated-smoltek-carbon-nanofibers-used-as-anode-material-for-pem-water-electrolyzers/7720/)

[Enhanc­ing Effi­cien­cy and Dura­bil­i­ty of PEM Water Elec­trol­y­sis with Low Irid­i­um Load­ing through Nanofiber-Mod­i­fied Porous Trans­port Electrodes](https://www.smoltek.com/enhancing-efficiency-and-durability-of-pem-water-electrolysis-with-low-iridium-loading-through-nanofiber-modified-porous-transport-electrodes/7758/)

### Smoltek’s patent families

[Nanos­truc­ture E‑beam writer](https://www.smoltek.com/nanostructure-e-beam-writer/999/)

[Inter­con­nects A (Smol­GROW™)](https://www.smoltek.com/interconnects-a-smolgrow/1035/)

[Nanos­truc­ture IC](https://www.smoltek.com/nanostructure-ic/1011/)

[Inter­con­nects B](https://www.smoltek.com/interconnects-b/1044/)

[Bump­ing](https://www.smoltek.com/bumping/1019/)

[Helplay­er](https://www.smoltek.com/helplayer/1022/)

[Nano Imprint Lithography](https://www.smoltek.com/nano-imprint-lithography/1026/)

[Cat­a­lyst Diffusion](https://www.smoltek.com/catalyst-diffusion/1030/)

[Inter­pos­er](https://www.smoltek.com/interposer/1032/)

[Assem­bly platform](https://www.smoltek.com/assembly-platform/1038/)

[Com­pact Ener­gy Stor­age Interposer](https://www.smoltek.com/compact-energy-storage-interposer/1041/)

[Dis­crete CNF-MIM](https://www.smoltek.com/discrete-cnf-mim/5689/)

[Elec­tro Cat­a­lyst Support](https://www.smoltek.com/electro-catalyst-support/5811/)

[Elec­tro Cat­a­lyst Heating](https://www.smoltek.com/electro-catalyst-heating/6273/)

[Con­tact Resistance](https://www.smoltek.com/contact-resistance/6757/)

[Nano Vel­cro](https://www.smoltek.com/nano-velcro/6768/)

[Ver­ti­cal Graphene](https://www.smoltek.com/vertical-graphene/6770/)

[Mul­ti­lay­er Cap](https://www.smoltek.com/multilayer-cap/7656/)

[Elec­trolyz­er Oxide Coating](https://www.smoltek.com/electrolyzer-oxide-coating-2/7925/)

[Elec­trode Con­for­mal Coating](https://www.smoltek.com/electrode-conformal-coating/8473/)

## [](https://www.smoltek.com#an-investment-company-of-a-sort)An investment company of a sort

As our research pro­gress­es, our sub­sidiaries seek indus­tri­al part­ners to devel­op prod­ucts based on our unique solu­tions. Smoltek’s con­tri­bu­tion, in addi­tion to intel­lec­tu­al prop­er­ty and know-how, is fur­ther R&D to adapt the tech­nol­o­gy to the part­ners’ needs and challenges.

Ulti­mate­ly, each sub­sidiary is spun off as an inde­pen­dent com­pa­ny, either retained or sold by Smoltek. In this way, Smoltek func­tions like an “invest­ment com­pa­ny” with a port­fo­lio of entities—but unlike tra­di­tion­al invest­ment firms, we don’t acquire exist­ing com­pa­nies. Instead, we incu­bate new ones from the ground up, built on our pro­pri­etary tech­nol­o­gy and research.

Smoltek cur­rent­ly has two port­fo­lio com­pa­nies: [Smoltek Semi](https://www.smoltek.com/smoltek-semi/), which is devel­op­ing a capac­i­tor (CNF-MIM) with a world record capac­i­tance per unit vol­ume, and [Smoltek Hydro­gen](https://www.smoltek.com/smoltek-hydrogen/), which is devel­op­ing a nov­el mate­r­i­al for fuel cells and elec­trolyz­ers that reduces the need for irid­i­um in elec­trolyz­ers by 95%. Both are still deeply engaged in qual­i­fied research, and this jour­ney will con­tin­ue for some time.

## [](https://www.smoltek.com#shareholder-value)Shareholder value

Smoltek’s ded­i­ca­tion to research makes the com­pa­ny gen­uine­ly com­pelling for investors.

By tack­ling chal­lenges that could deter­mine the future of entire indus­tries and pro­vide broad soci­etal benefits—such as enabling the fur­ther devel­op­ment of increas­ing­ly pow­er­ful proces­sors and mak­ing green hydro­gen a com­pet­i­tive alter­na­tive to fos­sil fuels—we devel­op unique, patent-pro­tect­ed tech­nolo­gies like CNF-MIM capac­i­tors and mate­ri­als for fuel cells and elec­trolyz­ers. These inno­va­tions are in high demand by indus­tries eager to inte­grate them into their prod­ucts, posi­tion­ing Smoltek to gen­er­ate sub­stan­tial roy­al­ties and addi­tion­al rev­enue from ongo­ing qual­i­fied research, ulti­mate­ly cre­at­ing sig­nif­i­cant share­hold­er value.

Our abil­i­ty to deliv­er these break­throughs depends entire­ly on our com­mit­ment to qual­i­fied research. This focus has been the foun­da­tion of our past suc­cess­es and will con­tin­ue to dri­ve our future innovations.

While Smoltek can be likened to a tra­di­tion­al invest­ment com­pa­ny, rather than acquir­ing busi­ness­es, we act as an incu­ba­tor for deep tech ven­tures. We build our port­fo­lio com­pa­nies from the ground up, each root­ed in Smoltek’s research. These com­pa­nies con­duct their own spe­cial­ized research to solve spe­cif­ic, high-impact prob­lems that indus­tries urgent­ly need to address.

This approach allows investors to ben­e­fit from the suc­cess of indi­vid­ual com­pa­nies and gain from Smoltek’s con­tin­u­ous cycle of inno­va­tion and com­pa­ny cre­ation, pro­vid­ing mul­ti­ple oppor­tu­ni­ties for val­ue growth over the long term.

## [](https://www.smoltek.com#conclusion)Conclusion

Qual­i­fied research is at the heart of our busi­ness mod­el, dri­ving the devel­op­ment of car­bon nanos­truc­ture-based solu­tions to address some of the most com­plex mate­r­i­al chal­lenges across indus­tries. This focus firm­ly posi­tions us as an *Explor­er* in the [R&D Eval­u­a­tion Matrix](https://www.smoltek.com/investors/blog/different-meanings-of-research-and-development/7788/). Smoltek is dou­bling down on this strat­e­gy because it promis­es to gen­er­ate sub­stan­tial roy­al­ties and addi­tion­al rev­enue from ongo­ing spe­cial­ized research, ulti­mate­ly deliv­er­ing sig­nif­i­cant val­ue to our shareholders.