CES 2023 - That's a Wrap!

What a difference a year makes!

META enjoyed an amazing CES 2023. With 100,000 attendees in Las Vegas, up 70% compared to last year, we had strong traffic at the booth, and many, many great conversations with customers, partners, and prospects. We were present in three locations on the show floor: the main META booth in LVCC North Hall, the Innovation Awards Showcase at the Venetian, and in the APMA booth in West Hall. Headlining the show was our Award Winning Transparent EMI Shielding for Microwave Oven Doors, and Day 2 of CES, META was the #1 Most Talked About Brand at CES 2023, according to social media trend tracker, BuzzRadar. 

Source: BuzzRadar.com

Lots of traffic at the META Booth

Showcasing NANOWEB® as a Platform

world's first crystal clear microwave oven window

A key differentiator for META is that we begin the design process with AI-enabled software tools that allow us to develop a range of potential solutions much faster than traditional chemical synthesis. META's NANOWEB® transparent metal mesh enables a range of applications, which are produced on the same roll-to-roll manufacturing platform by changing the pattern of the mesh. For example, highly transparent EMI shielding allows us to make a beautiful, clear window for a microwave oven, that shields against radiation just as effectively as the old-style drilled metal plate that obscures the view. Our Pleasanton, CA pilot-line is ready to produce EMI shielding films for the typical rectangular window dimensions.

META's award-winning solution at the Innovation Awards Showcase

Deicing and defogging for automotive

Another NANOWEB® application, deicing and defogging for automotive sensors, attracted a lot of attention from visitors to the booth. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) make driving safer and more enjoyable, but rely on a range of sensors (cameras, RADAR, LiDAR) that can be disabled by buildup of fog or ice on the sensor window. META's transparent heaters are power-efficient and specially designed mesh patterns (polarized and non-diffractive) do not interfere with the operation of the sensor.

Project Arrow Revealed

Showcasing automotive capabilities with project arrow

Also at CES, the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) of Canada launched the first, original, full-build zero-emission concept vehicle named Project Arrow, the largest commercial vehicle collaboration in Canadian automotive history. META was proud to be part of the Project Arrow reveal. META’s NANOWEB® automotive product applications for deicing and defogging, along with NANOWEB antenna for 5G were featured in the Project Arrow.

NANOWEB® can also be tailored to function as an antenna on vehicle sunroofs, windshields, and windows, to protect LIDAR sensors from electromagnetic interference, and it may be used to control an electrochromic layer, adjusting the tint of a sunroof from light to dark at the touch of a button. 

META’s automotive solutions do more with less by addressing the need for more efficient and sustainable material use, with an added benefit of improved functionality. Our NANOWEB® product is uniquely able to offer multiple applications such deicing and defogging, EMI shielding, electrochromic glass to reduce heat buildup in summertime, and act as a vehicle antenna, while remaining completely transparent.

 NANOWEB® 5G Reflector Improves Network Coverage Sustainably without Spoiling the View

a sustainable solution to improve 5G network coverage and eliminate dead spots

Highlighting the power and versatility of NANOWEB® is META's Award-Winning 5G Reflector. By changing the mesh design, signals can be reflected, passed through glass, diffusely reflected, and reflected at design-specific angles to guide signals outdoors and within buildings, improving network coverage faster, at lower cost, and more sustainably than by adding hardware to the network.

Making batteries safer, Lighter, & more sustainable

npore® nanoporous ceramic separators are uniquely made to help prevent battery fires

Catching they eye of many attendees was the video of independent nail penetration testing on two li-ion batteries with identical materials and design - except for the separator. The battery with the industry standard tri-layer CCS separator experiences a catastrophic thermal runaway, heating to 700 degrees C and bursting into flames. NPORE® nanoporous ceramic separators are dimensionally stable up to 200 degrees C, so the separator does not shrink away from a high-current location and cause a short or defect to propagate a thermal runaway. The battery made with NPORE® not only survives the nail penetration without overheating, smoke, or fire, it continues to operate after the nail is removed. 

META's Battery Materials Increase Safety, Reduce Weight, and Improve Sustainability

lighter batteries that use less copper increase vehicle range, battery sustainability

The copper current collector on the anode accounts for about 10% of the weight of a typical li-ion battery cell. The solid metal foil is usually 10-12 microns thick, because it must be strong enough to serve as a substrate for coating the anode material on a high-speed roll-to-roll line. Using META's proprietary PLASMAfusion® pulsed plasma deposition technology, the metal foil can be replaced with a 6 micron polyester substrate, coated on both sides with very thin (150-250 nanometer) copper layers. The high-speed pulses embed copper into the substrate, creating through-conductivity, so the material conducts like solid metal foil, while removing up to 90% of the copper and reducing battery weight by at least 5%.

adding new features to Ar eyewear

high-speed connectivity and better performance in changing light conditions

META's ARfusion® technology combines precision cast lens fabrication tools with functional metamaterials and volume holograms, to provide AR wearable developers with a platform for seamlessly integrating smart technologies into thin lightweight prescription glasses. Embedding a transparent 5G antenna into the lens allows AR wearable devices to connect directly to the cloud. Electrochromic dynamic dimming using NANOWEB® enables the lens to adjust to bright ambient light, reducing power demand on the projector and extending battery life. META's electrochromic lens solution, developed in collaboration with PPG, offers fast switching and high dynamic range, from 85% transparent in the clear (off) state to 15% in the dark (on) state.

Lightweight, Fashionable Glasses with AR Technology Embedded into Prescription Lenses 

thanks for coming - we can't wait for next year

The META Events Management Team is already planning for CES 2024. We have a great location in North Hall, strategically located between Automotive and Smart Cities. We are excited about the pipeline of products and applications in development. We want to say a big Thank You! to the #METAfam, and everyone who attended in person, followed us online, and supported META® on social media. See you next year.

The META Events Team