At Numat, innovation does not end with discovery. It is about delivering solutions that perform in the real world.

Dr. William Morris, Numat’s Director of Business Development, works closely with the Numat team, its customers, and partners to bring advanced commercial MOF products to market. With more than fifteen years of experience in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Dr. Morris plays a key role in translating these advanced MOF materials into real-world solutions.

Tell us about your role at Numat and your background as a MOF chemist?

Dr. Morris: My day-to-day work centers on advancing Numat’s MOF-enabled commercial solutions, with a focus on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) protection applications. In this customer-facing business development role, I provide both technical and functional insights into the capabilities of Numat’s MOF-enabled solutions.

I draw upon my fifteen years of experience with MOFs. First, I completed my Phd as a graduate student in Professor Omar Yaghi’s laboratory, where I synthesized new chemically stable MOFs and performed organic chemistry on them. Second, at Numat, where I have worked to deploy these materials in commercial products for over ten years. A key part of my current role is ensuring we set accurate expectations for the role Numat MOF solutions can play. In other words, I make sure we are clearly aligned with our customers on their requirements and how our MOFs can be deployed against these needs.

To make that happen, I stay actively engaged, both internally and externally, with key MOF progress across Numat’s business cases. I build relationships with stakeholders, communicate customer needs to our team, and spend significant time at my desk aligning on strategy and execution.

What’s a project you are especially proud of?

Dr. Morris: One project that still stands out is the development and deployment of MOFs in Numat’s first commercial product, ION-X®. To my knowledge, it is the earliest example of MOF product commercialization, and the business continues to grow and develop.

When I left graduate school, I had only synthesized and evaluated MOF performance at the gram scale. I had yet to fully grasp the challenges of incorporating a new MOF material into a commercial product. Through ION-X’s business growth, Numat overcame critical challenges in MOF commercialization, resulting in a successful commercial MOF product. Some of these challenges included scaling, integrating MOFs into a commercial gas storage system, and navigating regulatory requirements. These were pivotal learning experiences for the Numat team and for me personally.

Today, Numat produces and distributes ION-X globally in partnership with Merck KGaA. The gas stored in these cylinders is used in semiconductor manufacturing and ultimately ends up in vehicles, smartphones, and laptops. The invaluable lessons learned from ION-X – from material identification to scaling and deployment – continue to inform our work today at Numat.

When did you see Numat’s technology truly resonate in the real-world?

Dr. Morris: I regularly engage with partners across Numat’s three core business areas: electronics, Defense (CBRN protection), and carbon capture. Recently, much of my focus has been on CBRN protective garments for defense applications, and Numat’s CBRN protection suit, enabled by Numat’s Sentinel® MOF technology – what we refer to as “MOF CBRN Suits.”

In these conversations and product demonstrations, I see how MOF CBRN Suits and MOF technology more generally resonate with different audiences in distinct ways:

• End Users: Most importantly, the warfighter cares about a lower burden protective suit to greatly reduce physical strain, improve mobility, and increase survivability in contested environments.
• Defense CBRN Specialists: CBRN specialists, including Warrant Officers and long-tenured experts in the field, focus on the MOF CBRN Suit’s ability to neutralize chemical warfare agents, simplifying both doffing and decontamination procedures.
• US Defense Research Personnel: Personnel at DoD laboratories have played a critical role in advocating for and advancing MOFs in CBRN applications. In speaking with them, they are impressed with how MOF technology has been scaled to meet the warfighter’s needs. Additionally, the differentiated MOF performance they observed at the laboratory scale translates into the scaled MOF solutions provided to the warfighter.
• Procurement Professionals: They are drawn to the fact that it doesn’t use PFAS in production, and it is produced in the United States. These factors ensure the MOF CBRN Suit can be delivered for years to come with reduced supply chain risk.

These varied perspectives highlight the real-world advantages of deploying MOFs in CBRN protection when compared to legacy technologies. As these benefits continue to resonate, it is evident that this technology represents a leap forward in CBRN protection.

What’s a real-world use case or application that you think best represents the impact of Numat’s work?

Dr. Morris: The most compelling example is Numat’s work on PFAS-free MOF CBRN Suits, an area where the company is heavily investing its resources.

Currently, fielded CBRN protective suits rely on selectively permeable per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS)-enabled membranes or repellent coatings that contain small-molecule PFAS (C₆ and C₈). However, these PFAS chemicals are facing much more scrutiny from customers and regulators. As PFAS-related regulations tighten and supply chains continue to contract, the protection industry faces a critical challenge. Without a viable alternative, users are forced to consider a difficult tradeoff: continue using PFAS-based gear with potential supply chain risks, or switch to less effective solutions that increase the likelihood of potential chemical exposure.

Numat’s MOF-based technology offers another path: eliminating the need for PFAS barrier materials while also enhancing individual protection. Numat’s MOF CBRN Suits represent next-generation technology and will replace decades-old materials while significantly improving safety for those operating in the most extreme environments. As adoption of the MOF CBRN Suit continues, Numat is also focusing on opportunities to technically insert MOFs into other CBRN solutions, such as masks and filters, offering similarly enhanced chemical protection.

What stands out about the Numat team?

Dr. Morris: The Numat team stands out for its ability to consistently overcome complex challenges associated with MOF development and commercialization. Many companies, both large and small, have invested heavily in bringing these Nobel Prize-winning MOF materials to market. Yet only a handful have successfully transitioned them from the benchtop to real-world applications – with successful commercial products, including ION-X and Sentinel, Numat is the leading global MOF success story.

This progress is driven by a highly multidisciplinary team that works under tight timelines to solve difficult, often interconnected challenges. Commercial success requires experts across different fields to collaborate closely, combining their knowledge and experience to achieve shared goals and deliver practical solutions to customers. The Numat team has been addressing these critical challenges for over a decade now and is very proud of its accomplishments in the MOF field.

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From developing new applications to collaborating closely with partners, Dr. Morris plays a vital role in bringing Numat’s MOF technology to life. His work spans all of Numat’s business cases, with a focus on CBRN protection. The work that he and the Numat team have accomplished reflects Numat’s commitment to bringing high-performing MOF solutions to market.