Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News - Page 38

China-based Knano Graphene Technology launched an ambitious project to construct a large-scale graphene production plant. We talked to the company's marketing chief to learn more about this interesting project.

Knano aims to finish construction by the end of 2016, and to start shipping products to customers in 2017. The new plant will mostly produce graphene-enhanced pastes, used for coatings and as Li-Ion battery anode materials. Knano says it already has customers that approved these products produced at the company's current production lines.

Today we published a new version of our Graphene Batteries Market Report. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche Graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the graphene industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry.

The Graphene Batteries Market Report:

• The advantages using graphene batteries
• The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
• Various types of graphene materials
• What's on the market today
• Detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode material
• Personal contact details into most graphene developers

The report package provides a great introduction to the graphene batteries market - present and future. Read more here!

Innova Research recently published a survey that states that the Chinese graphene market revenue for 2015 was estimated at $6.1 million, a 335.7% jump from $1.4 million for 2014.

The survey also specifies that significant progress has been made on the adoption of graphene in a number of industrial applications in 2015, namely touch screens, anti-corrosive coating, and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). These adoptions are the primary reasons for the soaring Chinese graphene market revenue in 2015.

Versarien has announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) to collaborate on the production of power storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors using Versarien’s graphene nano platelets. Working with the SME team and battery specialists, Versarien will have access to WMG’s expertise and world leading facilities in the Energy Innovation Centre.

WMG aims to improve the competitiveness of organizations through the application of value adding innovation, new technologies and skills deployment, bringing academic rigor to industrial and organizational practice. WMG bridges the gap between academia and industry, enabling the development of innovative products.

Researchers at Kansas State University have created a paper-like battery with an electrode made from silicon oxycarbide-glass and graphene, that could develop better tools for space exploration or unmanned aerial vehicles. The electrode is said to be over 10% lighter than other battery electrodes and features close to 100% cycling efficiency for more than 1,000 charge discharge cycles. It’s also made from inexpensive materials that are byproducts of the silicone industry, and it functions at temperatures as low as -15 C which can accommodate several aerial and space applications.

The research team addressed the challenges that arise when trying to incorporate graphene and silicon into practical batteries, like low capacity per volume, poor cycling efficiency and chemical-mechanical instability, by manufacturing a self-supporting and ready-to-go electrode that consists of a glassy ceramic called silicon oxycarbide sandwiched between large platelets of chemically modified graphene, or CMG. The electrode has a high capacity of approximately 600 miliampere-hours per gram — 400 miliampere-hours per cubic centimeter — that is derived from silicon oxycarbide. The paperlike design is made of 20% chemically modified graphene platelets.

XG Sciences aims to raise $24 million through an initial public offering to fund operations, as it continues to commercialize composite materials for lithium-ion batteries and other applications. Of the $24 million XGS hopes to raise through an IPO, $11.4 million will go to fund operations for the next two years, by which time the company might begin generating positive cash flow from operations. Proceeds from the IPO would also go to working capital, and to increase capacity and its sales and technical service staff.

While the company has accumulated operating losses exceeding $43 million during its development stage, the securities filing cites a growing customer list and order volume. XG Sciences projects 2016 revenues of $5 million to $10 million through the sale of graphene and graphene nanoplatelets for electronic and industrial products that use lithium-ion batteries. A number of companies are currently testing XG Sciences’ materials for applications including lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, thermal shielding, inks and coatings, printed electronics, construction products, composites and military uses.

A research team at Los Alamos, along with collaborators from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, and Rutgers University, has developed a new water-removal technique that improves the performance of carbon nanomaterials used in fuel cells and batteries. The study may present new avenues for designing advanced carbon nanomaterials for batteries and fuel cells.

The study gives an in-depth understanding of the role water plays in graphene oxide nanosheets or functionalized graphene sheets. Dry films of graphene oxide include a significant volume of added water that builds up between the oxygen-functionalized nanosheets and is also usually produced in aqueous solutions. The researchers showed how a simple solvent drying method can remove the accumulated water between the graphitic sheets. When water is removed, the physical structure of these graphene oxide nanosheets changes considerably, and the distance between the nanosheets is also reduced. In addition to this, the researchers also noted that the concentration of functional groups changed significantly, resulting in highly ordered structures. These changes ultimately led to improved electrocatalytic activity, which substantially improves the performance in batteries and fuel cells.

Grafoid has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Xiamen Tungsten of Xiamen, China, for the establishment of a strategic joint venture partnership. The agreement establishes terms for Xiamen's acquisition of up to a 20% equity position in Grafoid through the purchase of common shares - including Grafoid common shares currently held by Grafoid's affiliate, Focus Graphite, an advanced Canadian graphite mining exploration and development company.

Focus Graphite currently holds 7.9 million Grafoid shares, and according to the MOU Xiamen can purchase up to 7 million shares from Grafoid. Seems like Focus Graphite does not want to remain a major shareholder in Grafoid - although the two companies are still linked by a 10-year offtake agreement.

Researchers at Brown University have demonstrated that graphene, wrinkled and crumpled in a multi-step process, becomes significantly better at repelling water - a property that could be useful in making self-cleaning surfaces. Crumpled graphene also has enhanced electrochemical properties, which could make it more useful as electrodes in batteries and fuel cells.

The researchers aimed to build relatively complex architectures incorporating both wrinkles and crumples. To do that, the researchers deposited layers of graphene oxide onto shrink films -polymer membranes that shrink when heated. As the films shrink, the graphene on top is compressed, causing it to wrinkle and crumple. To see what kind of structures they could create, the researchers compressed same graphene sheets multiple times. After the first shrink, the film was dissolved away, and the graphene was placed in a new film to be shrunk again.

Researchers at Tsinghua University, China have devised a graphene-based nanostructured lithium metal anode for lithium metal batteries, to inhibit dendrite growth and improve electrochemistry performance.

New lithium metal anode batteries, like Li-S and Li-air batteries, are highly sought after, as lithium metal provides an extremely high theoretical specific capacity, which is almost 10 times more energy than graphite. The problem is that the practical applications of lithium metals are significantly hindered by lithium dendrite growth in continuous cycles. This induces safety concerns since it may cause internal short circuits resulting in fire. Furthermore, the formation of lithium dendrites induces very low cycling efficiency. This is why inhibiting the dendrites growth, as was attempted by the researchers in this study, is highly expected.