DELAWARE, Ohio (July 20, 2020) – necoTECH, a sustainable infrastructure technology company headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, has been selected as one of the top technologies submitted to the U.S. Airforce for the “Base of The Future – Installation Resilience Challenge” and will be presenting at the AFWERX Fusion Event in late July.
The Air Force’s innovation arm, AFWERX will host the Base of the Future virtual event July 28-30, 2020. The annual Fusion event goes online this year as a highly engaging and interactive online event packed with unique experiences. It is open to the public, with registration available at afwerxfusion.com.
The event features a showcase of more than 350 teams from the public and private sector participating in the challenges to display their innovative solutions to Air Force leadership and key military decision-makers and operators. As one of the showcase selections, necoTECH will present its Hot Patch On Demand (HOTPOD) product for critical infrastructure repairs at U.S. Department of Defense applications.
“We are humbled the Air Force has selected our technology as one of the innovative products they are considering for the Base of the Future. This showcase will give us the chance to share our solution with key Department of Defense decision-makers and the larger infrastructure industry.”
- Steve Flaherty, Founder & CEO
Flaherty is one of the entrepreneurial experts at the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University. necoTECH collaborated with Ohio Wesleyan as its research institution partner and is utilizing community members at the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center to assist in the company’s separately awarded AFWERX STTR contract efforts.
necoTECH is working on a solution for repairing infrastructure pavement with better execution, performance, and turn-around time. necoTECH’s HOTPOD uses a portable heating unit used to rapidly heat Hot Mix Asphalt material. Unlike any product on the market today, this quick-ready material is used as a patch repair for asphalt and concrete pavements in all ambient temperatures and geographies.
HOTPOD provides strong, durable, and fast repairs, and lowers operating costs for maintenance of critical pavement infrastructure including all airport tarmac surfaces, runways, roads, and parking lots. Additionally, the proprietary pre-mixed hot patch compound has a nearly unlimited shelf life and can be quickly deployed, conveniently stored in a small amount of space, and successfully applied in nearly any environmental condition and location.
Earlier this year, necoTech was awarded an AFWERX STTR Phase I contract to pursue this work. necoTech completed that contract in June and is hoping to move to a Phase II award later this year.
necoTech, LLC, is a startup company out of Delaware, Ohio, with offices at the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University. necoTech’s focus is serving government and private industry with sustainable innovative technologies for the construction and waste operations market. Its Hot Patch On Demand Product (HOTPOD) lasts more than 10 times longer than a conventional cold-mix asphalt (CMA) patch product without any added risk for pavement repair. HOTPOD also is equivalent to conventional hot-mix asphalt (HMA) without the downsides of needing large trucking equipment, time-sensitive application windows, or access to a batch facility. Additionally, HOTPOD utilizes pre-packaged containers that have nearly an unlimited shelf life and that can be stored or shipped to any location.
Additionally, necoTech’s necoPlastics division is working on cutting-edge technology to revolutionize plastics recycling. The company utilizes a patented technology to create a 100% recycled plastic aggregate, called necoPave, used to increase the durability and longevity of asphalt roads.
necoTech’s technology enables it to recycle unsorted mixed-plastics that currently have little or no value and are being disposed of in landfills. necoPave is put in the hot mix asphalt process for paving roads, resulting in better performance and lower cost of ownership, all while being more environmentally friendly.
AFWERX serves as an entry point for industry to do business with the U.S. Air Force. It supports the mission of making the Air Force more innovative by discovering and developing ideas and opportunities to improve the service, connecting ideas with legitimate solutions, and transitioning tools to the warfighter.
Because AFWERX is fueled by people with a diverse set of skills, passions, and roles in the Air Force, its list of initiatives and resources is always growing. AFWERX ultimately is a network of people who want to help create a better Air Force for all Airmen and part of that requires partnering with innovative minds from industry. Learn more at www.afwerx.af.mil.
AFWERX Fusion is a three-day virtual event hosted by AFWERX, the innovation program powered by the United States Air Force. This annual flagship event brings together industry, individual innovators, academia, investors, military, and government team members.
The goal of this event is to present innovative solutions for Air Force areas of interest and facilitate an environment of connection and collaboration. AFWERX Fusion is centered around the Base of the Future, one of the top focus areas of the Air Force and across the Department of Defense (DoD).
Approximately 300+ teams will present their innovative solutions as part of an open showcase to attendees, including top Air Force leadership and other military decision-makers and operators. Concurrently, there will be live demos, keynote speakers, workshops, and panel discussions. This event is intended to be collaborative, open and transparent. Last year’s event sold out.
