Last month, First Graphene (FGR) announced a milestone in its program to develop high performing supercapacitor materials. Now, the Company announced it has been awarded funding from Innovate UK EDGE to progress development work on its supercapacitor graphene hybrid materials with a Research and Technology Organization (RTO) based in the United Kingdom.
The Innovate EDGE fund supports high-growth small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to scale up and innovate, working alongside the UK’s RTO and Catapult Network. The Company will engage with world-leading experts at the Energy Innovation Centre based at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) part of the Catapult Network.
The funding will be used to progress the development of novel supercapacitors using First Graphene’s unique hybrid-graphene materials and optimized protic ionic liquid electrolytes. These cells will have high capacitance and the ability to operate at high voltages a key milestone towards achieving the 10-plus-10 target of power density above 10kW/L and energy density above 10Wh/L. Proof-of-concept pouch cell supercapacitors will be produced to validate performance in a commercially relevant cell format.
Pouch cells are a specific battery format that do not have a rigid enclosure, instead using a sealed flexible foil. This reduces the weight compared to other battery formats and allows greater flexibility to fit them into various products.
The project will run over January and February 2022, and it is reportedly well aligned with plans to release a proof-of-concept cell within the next 12 to 18 months.
First Graphene Managing Director and CEO Michael Bell said: We are grateful for the ongoing support from Innovate UK EDGE which will allow us to maintain momentum on progress towards game-changing supercapacitor technology. We look forward to engaging with and developing this novel supercapacitor technology alongside the experts at WMG.
Mark Copley, Associate Professor of WMG said: We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration with First Graphene as the Company continues its scale-up journey with the novel graphene hybrid materials.
Dr Dilruk Yahathugoda, Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist at Innovate UK EDGE, said: We are pleased to be able to support First Graphene. A successful outcome will help the Company make a step change in its novel energy storage technology.