Carbon nanotube hybrid materials and methods of producing the hybrid materials

A carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid powder material, comprising:

• a blend of a powder catalyst material and a separate powder carbon material, wherein the powder catalyst material comprises a plurality of metal-oxide supported metal catalyst powder grains that make up at least 15% by weight of the blend, each catalyst grain formed from a number of elementary catalyst particles grouped to form the catalyst grain, and the separate powder carbon material comprises a plurality of agglomerates of carbon black particles, each agglomerate formed from multiple carbon black particles;
• a mesh of CNTs grown on and directly coupled to the elementary catalyst particles and proximate to but not directly coupled to the separate carbon black particles;
• wherein at least some of the elementary catalyst particles are physically separate from and not part of the catalyst grains;
• wherein at least some of the carbon black particles are physically separate from and not part of the agglomerates of carbon black particles;
• wherein at least some of the carbon black particles are separate from and not located on either the catalyst particles or the CNTs;
• and
• wherein the CNT hybrid powder material comprises at least 13% by weight CNT and has a tap bulk density of less than one third of the tap bulk density of the carbon black.