Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News - Page 48

UK-based Perpetuus Carbon Technologies announced that it entered the graphene supply market. The company will soon start production of customer-tailored surface modified graphene materials (excellent quality stacked graphene flakes) in its new 100 annual ton facility. The company can provide 50Kb batches within 48 hours and ton-sized orders within 28 days. The price of their graphene materials is £50 ($83) per kilogram.

The company also holds an R&D arm (called Perpetuus Research and Development). The development activities focus on graphene based ink, and also include transparent condcutive films (for ITO replacement), stress strain actuators and printable coatable electrodes for use in lithium Ion batteries.

UK's GS International (GSI) says that they have been chosen to be the graphite supplier for Norway's Graphene Batteries, a startup that develops graphene-based Li-Ion battery electrodes.

Graphene Batteries reportedly tested over 50 types of graphite before choosing GSI's graphite. GSI is offering high quality natural graphite at $16,000 per ton. GS International, together with the RS Group also aims to become a research partner to Graphene Batteries. The GS Group and GSI also plans to scale-up Graphene Oxide production soon.

Researchers from the DoE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed a micro-battery based on fluorinated graphene that features double the energy density compared to current micro batteries (silver oxide ones) used in Salmon fish monitoring (these batteries are injected together with wireless transmitters into the fish when they are young to track their movement). The researchers say that this new battery can revolutionize the biotelemetry world.

To create this new battery, the researchers used an improved "jellyroll" design - stacked battery layers are laminated on top of each other and then rolled up. The layers are separated by the graphene-fluorinated cathode (the anode is made of lithium).

Last month Cientifica signed an exclusivity agreement with London Graphene to develop technology using graphene for energy storage. Today Cientifica announced that London Graphene signed an option agreement with ISIS Innovation (the technology transfer office for the University of Oxford) to license a patent filed by Isis Innovation.

This patent application details a 2D nanomaterial CVD-based production process that can be used to make high quality graphene on copper foil. This patent will be used in the company's energy storage project, and in fact the option is exclusive to the fields of capacitors and batteries.

Yole Developments released a new graphene market report, in which they forecast that in 2024 the graphene material market will reach $141 million, driven mainly by transparent conductive electrodes and energy storage applications.

According to Yole, the market in 2013 was about $11 million, and it will grow slowly till 2017. In 2019 the market will experience faster growth (35.7% CAGR).

Angstron Materials (owned by Nanotek Instruments and based in Ohio, USA) is a graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and single-layer graphene sheets developer and producer.

Ian Fuller, the company's marketing and business development chief, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had regarding the company's technology and business. Ian joined Nanotek Instruments in 2006, focusing on fuel cells. He later joined the Angstron Materials team.

Researchers from Kansas State University developed a new composite paper made of interleaved molybdenum disulfide and graphene nanosheets that can be used as a negative electrode in sodium-ion batteries. The researchers say that the paper can be both an active material to efficiently store sodium atoms and a flexible current collector.

The researchers say that regular negative electrodes for sodium-ion batteries use materials that undergo an 'alloying' reaction with sodium. This means that the materials can swell as much as 400 to 500 percent as the battery is charged and discharged - which is problemtic as it can cause mechanical damage and loss of electrical contact with the current collector.

XG Sciences announced that Samsung Ventures placed a strategic investment in the company. XGS did not disclose the terms of the investment, but they said that it will be used to "fund additional research and development of the company’s advanced materials".

XG Sciences also plans to formalize their development work with Samsung SDI (the world's largest Li-Ion battery maker) in a joint development program aimed at next-generation batteries for consumer electronics and other devices.

Two months ago, Graphene Labs and Lomiko Metals launched a new company called Graphene 3D Labs that focuses on the development of high-performance graphene-enhanced materials for 3D Printing. Now we hear that Graphene 3D Lab filed a provisional patent application for the use of graphene-enhanced material, along with other materials, in 3D printing. This will enable the 3D printing of electronics devices - such as electronic circuits, sensors, or batteries.

The company's CEO, Daniel Stolyarov, says that they use Lomiko's high-quality graphene as the base material for producing graphene nanoplatelets, due to their cost and consistency in quality. The company says that adding graphene to polymers which are conventionally used in 3D printing improves the properties of the polymer in many different ways; it improves the polymers mechanical strength as well as its electrical and thermal conductivity.

Update: Cientifica failed to raise the money it required to stay in business, and the company is no longer in operation, and the deal with London Graphene never materialized.

Cientifica announced that it has signed an exclusivity agreement with London Graphene Ltd to develop technology using graphene for energy storage. The two companies will produce a joint business plan for the development of the technology, to raise further funds to facilitate the plan and negotiate terms to work together in the future.

This represents Cientifica's first public deal. They say that the agreement (which runs until April 30, 2014, apparently it just covers the business plan part) may possibly lead to Cientifica acquiring or merging with London Graphene. This is actually the first time I hear of London Graphene, and I couldn't find any real information on this company yet.