Delaware, OH (October 2, 2020) – necoTECH, a sustainable infrastructure technology company headquartered in Delaware, OH, was recently awarded an AFWERX Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II contract to examine necoTECH’s Hot Patch On Demand (HOTPOD) product for critical infrastructure repairs for pavements at Air Force Bases. STTR is a highly competitive awards-based program enabling small businesses to explore technology potential within the defense arena.
“We are very honored to have been selected as one the technology’s that the Air Force has chosen to work with. This contract will allow us to continue our innovative mission, help our U.S. warfighters save time and money, and establish necoTECH as a modernizer in the infrastructure industry.”
Steve Flaherty, necoTECH Founder & CEO
necoTECH collaborated with Ohio Wesleyan University as its research institution partner and is utilizing community members at the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center to assist in the Phase II efforts. necoTECH’s technology is a solution for repairing infrastructure pavement with better execution, performance, and turn-around time. The HOTPOD system is comprised of 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. 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, that can be quickly deployed, conveniently stored in a small amount of space, and successfully applied in nearly any environmental condition and location.
This award builds on necoTECH’s previous success from earlier this year when they were awarded a Phase I contract in March. Work on this phase II contract commences immediately, with the goal to move on to a phase III contract over the next two years.
necoTECH, LLC is a startup company out of Delaware, Ohio with offices at the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University. Their focus is on serving Government and private industry with sustainable innovative technologies for the construction and waste operations market. Their Hot Patch On Demand Product (HOTPOD) is a pavement patch system that lasts over 10X’s longer than a conventional cold-mix asphalt (CMA) patch product without introducing any added risk for pavement repair. While performing better then CMA, 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, the HOTPOD system utilizes pre-packaged containers that have nearly an unlimited shelf life (unlike CMA’s two-year shelf stability), that can be stored or shipped to any location.
Additionally, necoTECH’s necoPlastics division is working on a cutting-edge technology that is on the forefront of revolutionizing plastics recycling. They utilize a patented technology to create a 100% recycled plastic aggregate that is used in asphalt roads to increase durability and longevity of the roadways. This patented technology enables them to recycle unsorted mixed-plastics that currently have little or no value and are being disposed of in landfills. The aggregate then gets put in the hot mix asphalt process for paving roads, resulting in better performance, lower total cost of ownership, all while being more environmentally friendly. This product, named necoPave, allows road owners to protect the environment while increasing the durability and longevity of the roadways.
AFWERX serves as an entry point for industry to do business with the Air Force. They support the mission of making the Air Force more innovative by uncovering ideas and opportunities to improve the service, connecting ideas with legitimate solutions, and transitioning tools to the warfighter.
Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force, directly envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Her vision of AFWERX — to solve some of the toughest challenges that the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst our nation’s top subject matter experts. AFWERX serves as a catalyst to unleash new approaches for the warfighter through a growing ecosystem of innovators. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts.
