The story of Ecophene is a rollercoaster of failures and triumphs. It traces back to 1999, when a 6 year old Leandro Alvarez dreamed of becoming a shark expert. Raised by Cuban immigrants who arrived in America with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Leandro worked in the family septic cleaning business while attending school. In high school, he interned with Dr. Neil Hammerschlag at the University of Miami's Shark Research Center, gaining valuable experience in the lab and the field. 

 

Leandro pursued a degree in Marine Biology at FIU, and around 2012 realized that overfishing and climate change were devastating shark populations worldwide, and by the time he would have completed his Ph.D., most sharks would be on the endangered species list or even wiped out entirely. Since then, over 20 shark species have been classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. At this critical moment, Leandro contemplated his options and decided that while he couldn't do much about overfishing, he might be able to contribute to mitigating climate change. 

 

From that point onward, Leandro became determined to find a solution. Coming from a family of small business owners, he didn't understand why environmental activists advocated for taxing and regulating local businesses into oblivion. He reasoned that carbon dioxide (CO2) was the cause of the problem and removing it would solve the problem. The real stroke of genius came when he considered that CO2 could be seen as a resource rather than a waste product. Recognizing humanity's proficiency in exploiting resources, he knew that with this approach, it was only a matter of time before we would be running out of CO2. This realization prompted him to explore ways to utilize CO2. Initially, he considered isolating carbon to create high-value structures such as diamonds, but soon realized the impracticality of the idea. The cost of producing diamonds using existing technology would double, and the amount of CO2 emitted during the process would be eight times greater than the CO2 sequestered. Leandro met Stephanie Soto in FIU around 2014 and they began brainstorming ways to make this a reality. 

 

Although the concept was sound, a different material was needed. Leandro delved into research on various carbon materials like graphite, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. That's when he stumbled upon graphene. Instantly recognizing its versatility and potential, he thought, "This is perfect! I can incorporate it into concrete, asphalt, batteries, water filters, solar panels, military body armor—everything." Yet, he wondered why graphene wasn't already ubiquitous. The industry had explored using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) to produce graphene, but only focused on improving CVD processes. However, Leandro asked a different question: "Using CO2, how can we make graphene?" The challenge that lay before him was formidable. He had to find a way to make graphene from atmospheric CO2 with limited financial resources, relying on equipment available at a hardware store. Moreover, as an environmentalist, he insisted on a process that generated no negative waste streams. It made no sense to clean the air at the expense of polluting rivers. Furthermore, he lacked in-depth training in nanotechnology, which meant he had to teach himself the field before proceeding. 

 

Most people would have dismissed the task as impossible, but Leandro and Stephanie both believed in the vision which compelled them to push forward. For six years, they labored tirelessly, conducting experiments, enduring failed attempts, burning eyebrows, and sacrificing countless nights of sleep. The process was accompanied by significant financial losses. Finally, in 2018, a breakthrough occurred. The duo discovered a method that showed promise and they immediately initiated the process of patenting the methodology. Through a slough of various introductory emails with big names in nanotech, the duo met Dr. Sung Hee Joo, a nanotechnology expert. As they waited for their patent to be accepted, the duo along with Dr. Joo, worked on a Phase 1 SBIR through the National Science Foundation on Zinc Oxide-Graphene Oxide nanohybrid nanobeads to create a next generation water purifier. Though they did not receive the funding for the project, she has worked as an advisor to Ecophene ever since.

 

Around the same time, they crossed paths with individuals from Romix, an asphalt manufacturing company based in South Africa, who displayed keen interest in graphene. Additionally, an investor from the Opportunity Investment Fund expressed willingness to support the venture financially. Both of these connections resided in Tennessee, while Leandro and Stephanie were located in Miami. To be closer to their investor and first customer, they made the decision to relocate to Chattanooga, Tennessee In April 2020. 

 

Tragedy struck, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the country into lockdown. Consequently, both their customer and investor had to halt operations. Suddenly, Leandro and Stephanie found themselves in Chattanooga without friends, employment, connections, or hope about the future of Ecophene. Despite the dire circumstances, they chose to find opportunity within the tragedy. They established connections with the INCubator then the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and Oakridge National Laboratories, which generously validated their research. Through this collaboration, they successfully characterized their graphene, and published a paper which validates they had indeed created graphene from atmospheric CO2. Additionally, they obtained their patent and formed partnerships with Harley Grant and Jeff Henry, who were impressed by the technology and provided them with a facility at ATC-CES for manufacturing graphene.  

 

The final hurdle was developing a process to functionalize graphene effectively for use in concrete. With a little more hard work and unwavering passion, they created a proprietary graphene-based additive that serves as an all-in-one concrete fortifier, named Nanofill. This product solidifies their motto: “Nanotechnology isn’t the future, it’s now!” 

 

The journey has been painful and exhausting at times, but they would be lying if they didn’t also say it has been the most fun and exciting adventure they have undertaken. Against impossible odds, they achieved what seemed impossible…many times over. Ecophene has come a long way, but still has further to go if they want to achieve the goal of mitigating man-made climate change.

 

We invite you to join us on our mission to combat man-made climate change, and we hope that our story, our mission, and our products will inspire and empower others to be BOLD and choose to do the impossible.