WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adranos, Inc, the West Lafayette, Indiana-based startup that manufactures next-generation solid rocket motors, today announced a $20 million Series A funding round with participation from Bob Bishop and other principals at Impala Asset Management LLC and several other entities, including Explorer1 Fund, Elevate Ventures, and Specific Impulse Capital. This round brings the total capital raised by the company to date to over $25 million.
Co-founded in November 2015 by Brandon Terry, Ph.D, and Chris Stoker, Adranos manufactures solid rocket motor propulsion systems for hypersonic boosters, tactical missiles, space launch vehicles, and other platforms. The company’s motors feature its proprietary aluminum-lithium alloy fuel called ALITEC that significantly increases the range, payload performance, and speed of defense and space systems.
“National security and commercial space customers want substantially more performance from solid rocket motors, and that is exactly what we offer them,” said Chris Stoker, CEO and co-founder at Adranos. “Putting ALITEC-fueled rockets in the hands of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied nations, whether for hypersonics or tactical missiles, will have a transformational impact on global security.”
The Series A funding round closed after Adranos successfully completed a test campaign of ALITEC-fueled tactical missile-sized solid rocket motors. Conducted under an effort jointly funded by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, the tests validated ALITEC’s performance advantages at scale.
“In 2019, we conducted flight tests under an Army program, demonstrating that motors utilizing ALITEC fuel could increase the range of a missile system by nearly 40 percent while keeping other variables constant,” said Brandon Terry, CTO and co-founder at Adranos. “In 2021, the motors we tested were 10 times larger and revealed a performance increase beyond what we previously thought possible.”
Adranos completed its tactical motor test campaign at its 450-acre, coastal Mississippi facility. Acquired in late 2020, the Mississippi Rocket Complex serves as Adranos’s primary manufacturing site with the capacity to mix, cast, and produce more than one thousand tactical missile-sized rocket motors per year. The site is also equipped with static test infrastructure, energetic storage facilities, and R&D labs.
“We see significant market potential for Adranos in defense and space,” said Bob Bishop, CIO and founder at Impala Asset Management and longtime investor in defense and aerospace companies. “It’s apparent to me that Adranos directly addresses the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense as well as defense and commercial space launch entities. The company offers significant value as a new solid rocket motor manufacturer to those companies building missiles, hypersonic boosters, and other defense systems.”
With the new investment, Adranos will grow its teams in Indiana and Mississippi as well as ramp up its production capacity. Additionally, Adranos will design, test, and manufacture solid rocket propulsion systems for its customers in defense and commercial space.
About Adranos
Adranos builds next-generation solid rocket motors for a safer and more connected world. The company’s propulsion systems provide customers with unprecedented performance, allowing them to seamlessly increase the range, speed, and payload capacity of their rocket-powered systems. Learn more about Adranos at its website: www.adranos.com.
About Bob Bishop
Bob Bishop is an industry veteran and CIO of Impala Asset Management, an investment management firm that he founded in 2004 and whose principals have significant investing experience in aerospace, defense and global cyclicals. The firm has offices in Connecticut and Florida. Learn more about Impala by visiting its website: https://impalafunds.com/
