North Andover's 6K Named To 2023 Global Cleantech 100

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — 6K, a North Andover-based producer of engineered materials for lithium-ion batteries and additive manufacturing, has been named to Cleantech Group's 2023 Global Cleantech 100 list.

The annual list honors companies that have made significant progress in championing sustainable innovation

"(These) innovators (have) the technologies and determination to take us from commitments to actions in the sprint to net-zero," Cleantech said in a statement.

According to 6K, the company was honored due to its proprietary UniMelt microwave plasma, which produces advanced material faster and cleaner than conventional processes producing both metal additive manufacturing powders and battery material for the electrification market.

"6K being recognized on the Global Cleantech 100 list underscores our dedication to sustainability and the importance of clean manufacturing," said Bruce Bradshaw, chief marketing officer for 6K. "Our ability to manufacture AM powder with 92 percent lower emissions, as well as battery material production utilizing 90 percent less water and zero wastewater proves just how sustainable the UniMelt production technology truly is."

According to Cleantech, there were 15,753 from over 93 countries nominated for the Global Cleantech 100 this year. The companies were weighted and scored to create a short list of 330 companies, which were reviewed by an 81-member panel of experts. The panel included leading investors and corporate and industrial executives.

Details about the Global Cleantech 100 list, which has been running since 2009, have been packaged in an annual report that is available online.

"The highly anticipated annual report brings the complete list of companies with the most promising ideas in cleantech that are best positioned to help build a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future," Cleantech said in a statement.

6K has been in the news recently.

In October, the company was selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) as the recipient of $50 million in federal funding from President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law.

The company said the money will partially fund the $107 million PlusCAM factory, a full-scale battery material manufacturing plant scheduled to open in 2025.

In December, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and then-Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker joined a group of politicians touring 6K's "cutting-edge battery center" in North Andover.