Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News - Page 46

The UK based Perpetuus Carbon, producer and global supplier of high quality functionalized graphene, signed a preliminary agreement to achieve full commercial partnership and manufacturing agreement with G24 Power, a leading dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) company from the UK.

Perpetuus is to provide functionalized graphene, in sheet or roll form, for G24’s production of a range of advanced graphene-enabled components. G24 reportedly has manufacturing capabilities of thousands of metres of components per month for use in areas like resistance heating, biosensor platforms, barrier packaging, composite physical reinforcements, water treatment, fuel cell membranes, thermal management and heat dissipation, EMI shielding, electrodes for batteries and supercapacitors and LI-AIR battery cathodes.

Graphene 3D Lab recently introduced their 3D printed graphene battery prototype in the Inside 3D Printing Conference in Santa Clara, California. The prototype battery is composed of nanoplatelets of graphene that are added to polymers, and can already produce the same amount of energy as a common AA battery. The company states that these batteries will be able to be integrated into a 3D-printed object while that object is still being built, which grants the batteries enhanced performance potential (compared to non-integrated batteries) due to precise customization.

Since the battery is still in prototype phase, last month Graphene 3D Labs announced a partnership with Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY, for a round of quality control testing to get it to the next step.

Graphene Nanochem entered into a product development and collaboration agreement with Sync R&D - for the development of a next-gen graphene-enhanced Li-Ion battery solution for electric buses, under the Electric Bus 1 Malaysia program.

Under the agreement, Graphene NanoChem and Sync R&D will develop and integrate a graphene-enhanced Li-on Battery into a prototype electric shuttle bus in Malaysia. Sync R&D will design and develop the shuttle bus while Graphene NanoChem will design and produce the battery.

Graphene 3D Lab filed a provisional application for a US patent for 3D printable batteries. A 3D-printable power source is vital for many printable devices of course. These batteries are based on graphene of course and can potentially outperform current commercial batteries.

Graphene 3D Lab also says that 3D-printed graphene batteries have several advantages over traditional batteries - you can tailor the shape and size to design of the specific device you are printing. The company aims to perform live demonstrations of 3D printed batteries - but they did not say when will this take place.

Grafoid announced that it acquired Braille Battery, a developer and manufacturer of advanced lightweight Li-Ion batteries for the automotive market. Grafoid is looking for Braille to incorporate the company's graphene MesoGraf materials in their batteries to enhance the performance of those batteries.

Grafoid actually acquired 75% of the shares in Braille (the rest is owned by the company's founder), which will remain as president and COO. Braille is focused on the Formula 1, NASCAR and IndyCar markets, but they aim to also enter the medical, military and marine sectors.

Researchers at from Korea's KAIST institute developed a new method to fabricate defect-free graphene. Using this graphene, they developed a promising high-performance anode for Li-Ion batteries.

The method starts with a Pyrex tube and fill it with graphite powder. The open-ended tube is placed in another, larger tube and potassium is added to the gap between the tubes. The tubes are sealed and heated - which causes the potassium to move inside the micropores in the graphite powder - creating a potassium-graphite compound. This is placed in a pyridine solution, which expands the layer and separates them to form graphene nanosheets - which are then exfoliated to create a single graphene sheet.

Tesla's current Model S car has batteries with a capacitance of 85 kWh, which enables the car to drive up to 480 km between charges. The company's CEO, Elon Mask, recently said that the company is developing "new battery technology" that will almost double the capacity - and will allow the cars to drive up to 800 km between charges.

Today, China News Network posts an article saying that Tesla's new battery technology is based on graphene. This makes sense as graphene-based battery electrodes can dramatically increase battery charge time and capacity. There are many companies developing this technology and it's likely that Tesla is collaborating with one (or more of these companies).

Researchers from Rice University developed a new chemical process that is used to create a tough, ultra-light foam in any size and shape. The new foam (called GO-0.5BN) is made from two 2D materials: graphene oxide and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) platelets.

This foam can be used as structural component in applications such as electrodes for supercapacitors and batteries and gas absorption material.

Researchers from Wuhan University of Technology developed a new graphene-based high-energy electrode for Li-Ion batteries. The electrode is made from a 3D-crumpled graphene that encapsulates nickel-sulfide. Covering the Nickel-Sulfide with the graphene enhances the performance of the electrode - makes it much longer lasting.

A regular nickel-sulfide electrode offers high-performance, but it only lasts for about 150 cycles. Adding the graphene "protection", the electrode enables it to last almost a thousand cycles, without much change to capacity.

SiNode Systems signed a joint-development agreement with Merck's AZ Electronic Materials with an aim to commercialize graphene-based materials for lithium-ion batteries. The two companies will develop electrode materials that deliver high energy density and improved rate capabilities - to enable Li-Ion batteries that last longer and charge faster.

SiNode, established in 2013 to commercialize a novel anode Li-ion battery technology developed at Northwestern University, developed a composite material of silicon nano-particles and graphene in a layered structure. The company says that their material will enable 10 times higher battery capacity and a tenfold decrease in charging time compared with current technology. The company is now expanding its R&D and pilot manufacturing facility in Chicago.