What if the future of rocket propulsion was printed instead of molded?

On this episode of the Twin Cities Business Show, we sit down with Cora Leibig, founder and CEO of Chromatic 3D Materials, a company based in Golden Valley that’s pioneering advanced 3D printing technologies for industrial applications — including a breakthrough approach to 3D printing solid rocket fuel. Chromatic is opening up a new test facility for their rocket fuel products at Camp Ripley later this year.

Cora explains how Chromatic went from printing industrial rubber parts and medical components to working with the defense industry, why 3D printing could reshape American manufacturing, and how Minnesota is becoming a hub for defense and advanced manufacturing innovation.

The conversation covers:

• How Chromatic 3D Materials discovered a new application for its technology in rocket fuel
• Why 3D printing can unlock designs that traditional manufacturing cannot achieve
• The role of additive manufacturing in rebuilding America’s industrial base • Why the U.S. faces challenges scaling manufacturing capacity
• Minnesota’s growing defense and national security ecosystem
• Cora’s journey from MIT and Dow Chemical to founding a deep-tech startup
• The challenges of raising capital for technology companies outside Silicon Valley Subscribe to Twin Cities Business for more conversations with Minnesota’s business builders, leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

Here are the topics discussed and a timeline:

• 00:00 Introduction: 3D printing rocket fuel in Golden Valley
• 00:31 Why 3D print solid rocket fuel?
• 02:40 How Chromatic entered the rocket fuel business
• 05:35 Pitching breakthrough technology to the Department of Defense
• 07:26 Minnesota’s growing defense and national security ecosystem
• 09:21 What is additive manufacturing?
• 13:23 From Dow Chemical to Minnesota entrepreneurship
• 16:09 Founding Chromatic 3D Materials
• 19:29 Why 3D printing can transform manufacturing
• 23:27 Can 3D printing rebuild America’s manufacturing base?
• 25:09 Why Chromatic pivoted toward defense applications
• 27:52 America’s manufacturing capacity and defense readiness
• 29:04 Why U.S. manufacturing slowed compared with China
• 33:03 Operating a technology company in the U.S. and Germany
• 34:27 Chromatic’s future growth plans
• 38:01 Solving impossible problems: the future of rocket technology
• 41:19 Testing rocket technology at Camp Ripley
• 42:17 Cora’s path from MIT to entrepreneurship
• 45:20 Lessons learned from Dow Chemical
• 48:00 Building a deep-tech company in Minnesota
• 52:16 Investing in people and the future of Chromatic
• 55:06 The technical problems Cora loves solving
• 56:27 The science of baking sourdough bread