Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Vitriform3D is pioneering a new way to turn glass waste into high-value products through advanced manufacturing and 3D printing.
Working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), founders Alex Stiles and Dustin Gilmer developed a binder jet 3D-printing process that transforms crushed bottles into durable engineered stone for tiles, signage, and next-generation building cladding. Their work shows how entrepreneurship, manufacturing research, and national lab innovation can reshape regional recycling and supply chains.
In this video, learn more about:
· How Vitriform3D 3D-prints recycled glass using binder jet technology
· How ORNL’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem accelerates startup innovation
· How crushed glass becomes a scalable building material
· How this collaboration sparked a new glass-recycling ecosystem in Knoxville
About the collaboration
Vitriform3D is an alumnus of Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node at ORNL.
Through access to ORNL experts in binder jetting, materials science, and building technologies, Vitriform3D tested adhesive formulas, printing parameters, and product designs that were not yet available in industry. This partnership expanded into follow-on work with ORNL’s Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC), exploring how recycled glass can be used in cladding and other construction applications.
The project also led Stiles to launch Fourth & Glass, a Knoxville recycling startup that has collected more than 60,000 pounds of glass for new products and county construction projects.
The C4 Partnering Model
MDF is the model for DOE’s national laboratory system’s C4 Partnering Model, designed to increase cross-sector collaboration, shorten technology development cycles, and strengthen regional manufacturing and commercialization ecosystems.
Learn more about C4 partnering opportunities across the United States at sandia.gov/c4/.
The C4 project, led by Sandia National Laboratories, is funded by DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, administered by DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization.
ORNL is using #BigScience to make a big impact. Learn more: ornl.gov/bigscience
Vitriform3D is pioneering a new way to turn glass waste into high-value products through advanced manufacturing and 3D printing.
Working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), founders Alex Stiles and Dustin Gilmer developed a binder jet 3D-printing process that transforms crushed bottles into durable engineered stone for tiles, signage, and next-generation building cladding. Their work shows how entrepreneurship, manufacturing research, and national lab innovation can reshape regional recycling and supply chains.
In this video, learn more about:
· How Vitriform3D 3D-prints recycled glass using binder jet technology
· How ORNL’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem accelerates startup innovation
· How crushed glass becomes a scalable building material
· How this collaboration sparked a new glass-recycling ecosystem in Knoxville
About the collaboration
Vitriform3D is an alumnus of Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node at ORNL.
Through access to ORNL experts in binder jetting, materials science, and building technologies, Vitriform3D tested adhesive formulas, printing parameters, and product designs that were not yet available in industry. This partnership expanded into follow-on work with ORNL’s Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC), exploring how recycled glass can be used in cladding and other construction applications.
The project also led Stiles to launch Fourth & Glass, a Knoxville recycling startup that has collected more than 60,000 pounds of glass for new products and county construction projects.
The C4 Partnering Model
MDF is the model for DOE’s national laboratory system’s C4 Partnering Model, designed to increase cross-sector collaboration, shorten technology development cycles, and strengthen regional manufacturing and commercialization ecosystems.
Learn more about C4 partnering opportunities across the United States at sandia.gov/c4/.
The C4 project, led by Sandia National Laboratories, is funded by DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, administered by DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization.
ORNL is using #BigScience to make a big impact. Learn more: ornl.gov/bigscience
