BSV Podcast 0131: Elementum 3D

Balerion Principal Emerson Garnett sits down with Jacob Nuechterlein, Founder & President of Elementum 3D, to discuss metal additive materials. Elementum 3D develops specialty materials for metal additive manufacturing, including aluminum, nickel, copper, tungsten, and related systems. The company’s reactive additive manufacturing approach addresses cracking and qualification barriers for high-performance parts in space, defense, automotive, and energy applications.Timestamped Overview00:00 – Introduction and Elementum 3D overview01:05 – Founding problem, early additive manufacturing material limits, and validation with the first printer03:38 – Reactive additive manufacturing and in-situ ceramic particles that reduce cracking05:27 – Additive geometries, aerospace-grade aluminum, Europa mission hardware, and rocket engine parts06:39 – Product demand across nickel superalloys, aluminum, copper, and space and defense markets08:33 – Formula One qualification and adoption by NASA, primes, and racing teams09:45 – Customer material down-selection, OEM design culture, and redesigning for additive manufacturing13:20 – Adjacent markets including energy, cooling, batteries, and nuclear applications14:42 – Qualification cost, duplicated testing, and industrializing new materials for production16:00 – Custom materials, product standardization, business model, and ideal recurring customers19:22 – Partnerships, government adoption barriers, standards, and additive ecosystem gaps24:41 – Reshoring, U.S. supply, tungsten applications, and radiation shielding use cases27:40 – R&D culture, faster print speeds, founder advice, MMPDS qualification, AI design, and cold spray37:16 – Legacy alloy adoption, GRX810, ODS materials, Colorado ecosystem, and future copper alloy roadmap43:24 – Founder lessons on investor alignment and closing remarks This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit balerionspace.substack.com