Metal Tech Alley company scores $1.5 million in funding to kickstart product expansion

Funding of $1.5 million will go far in kickstarting the new product expansion line for Fenix Advanced Materials. — Photo courtesy Fenix Advanced Materials/Facebook

Fenix Advanced Materials, a Clean Technology company and part of Trail’s forward-thinking Metal Tech Alley cluster of companies, has secured over $1.5 million in funding to kickstart its new cadmium-zinc-tellurium raw materials product expansion.

Specializing in the manufacture of ultra-high purity metals, the company plans to upscale its applied research to grow CZT crystals. Known as the newest and coolest semiconductor, CZT crystals have numerous applications: radiation detection and mapping, nuclear medical imaging, homeland security and astrophysics.

Explains Dan Manaig, director of Research and Innovation at Fenix Advanced Materials, “CZT digitizes conventional imaging technology by directly converting gamma- and x-rays to electronic signals. Further, it gives higher energy and spatial resolutions while operating at room temperature.”

This will expand the company’s current product line: indium, antimony and tin used in photovoltaics, advanced infrared technologies and superconductors.

The major funders that will allow Fenix to expand and focus on their applied research efforts, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing are Community Futures of Greater Trail, the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program and the Columbia Basin Trust.

Don Freschi, Fenix CEO emphasizes, “These financial investments will ramp up our technological, innovation and production capacity, which in turn increases our global competitiveness. We believe this will bring direct positive economic impact to our rural region and are extremely grateful for all the support.”