Cerebral Energy has announced it has been selected by AFWERX (the innovation arm of the U.S Air Force, powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)) for a Phase II STTR follow-on contract in the amount of $1.6 million to support further development of a new lithium-free secondary battery using recycled aluminum and graphene derived from recycled US waste streams.
The technology was developed by Dr. Lynden Archer - Dean of the School of Engineering at Cornell University and licensed by Cerebral. The novel aluminum battery design is over 3X more efficient than lithium, and said to be much safer (no fire risk), 10X faster charging and has no supply chain challenges since the materials are derived from US waste streams. Known as "AGILE," the batteries will first support Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) medical modernization teams to address their pressing tactical power issues.
The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.
"We’re honored that the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Medical Modernization group supported our Phase II application as the customer for next generation AGILE batteries," said Cerebral Co-Founder and CEO Eric Bentsen. "We’re also thrilled to be working with Cornell University and Dr. Archer’s world class team of scientists on the project."
"On behalf of Cornell University, we are excited to be supporting the Cerebral team and the US Air Force in this critical R&D project," said Dr. Lynden Archer, Cornell University.