Providing technical know-how to distillery to produce hand sanitizer

New Mexico’s Wayward Sons Craft-Distillery in Santa Fe reconfigured its operations to produce a hand sanitizer called Elbow Bump. The distillery approached Sandia Labs to test the hand sanitizer developed to help with the current severe product shortages. Labs researchers provided technical consulting and resources to help the company determine if the product can be scaled up to large quantities while maintaining its effectiveness. The partnership with the distillery and Sandia was established through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance program that pairs Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories with small businesses facing technical challenges. The program provides access to labs expertise and capabilities at no cost to the business.

Assessing materials for respirator production

Sandia is helping New Mexico companies working to manufacture respirators for medical personnel in response to shortages. N95 respirators filter out at least 95% of airborne particles, protecting the wearer from exposure. Sandia is assessing the performance of new materials for companies by testing against traditional N95 respirators using research and development filtration systems modified to mimic industry certification standards for N95 respirator performance. Technical assistance is provided through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program that pairs Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories with small companies that need help solving technical challenges.

Rapid transfer of technology to the marketplace

Sandia has a new, fast-track licensing program to rapidly deploy technology to a marketplace reeling from the effects of COVID-19. The program is designed to support businesses facing widespread, often technical challenges resulting from the pandemic. Under the program, more than 1,000 Sandia-patented technologies — 70% of Sandia’s intellectual property portfolio — are temporarily eligible for any U.S. person to use commercially for free.