Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News - Page 50

Researchers from Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) developed a simple and low-cost way to dope graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) with Nitrogen. These new materials may prove useful for dye-sensitized solar cells and fuel cells.

The researchers used dry ball-milling and they say that this is an efficient way to chemically modify the graphene flakes. This is more useful than current ways (most commonly the Harber-Bosch process, which requires extreme pressure and temperature conditions).

The University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool launched a new consortium to develop new graphene-based energy storage devices. The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) granted £3.3 million ($5 million) to the consortium.

The University of Manchester will build a new grid-scale energy storage test facility, that will also be made available to industrial partners. This will allow energy storage systems to be fully tested before widespread deployment. The new facility will be operational by 2014.

Michigen based XG Sciences uses Michigan State University developed technology to develop and produce Graphene Nanoplatelets, or xGnPs. Those short stacks of graphene sheets made through a proprietary manufacturing process can be used to replace carbon nanotubes - at a lower cost.

Michael Knox, the company's co-founder and CEO was kind enough to answer a few questions we had. During the previous 25 years, Mr. Knox has been involved in a number of different businesses as an owner or an officer. Mr. Knox has a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota.

XG Sciences, one of the few companies in the world that offer xGnPs (Graphene Nanoplatelets, short stacks of graphene sheets made through a proprietary manufacturing process), say they have over 600 customers - in the automotive, electronics, battery and aerospace industries. The most active companies are Asian electronics and battery makers.

The company says they generated $4 million in revenue in 2012. Not all of this are product sales (for example they have a license agreement with Cabot Corporation, signed in 2011) - but it's still impressive considering that Lux Research estimates that the entire graphene market was just $9 million in 2012.

Researchers from Rice University developed new Li-Ion anode material from graphene nanoribbons (GNR) and SnO2 (Tin Oxide). They are combining the Tin-Oxide with the GNRs and they say that batteries made with the new material has double the storage capacity compared to traditional graphite anodes.

Basically to create the new material, the researchers mixed the GNRs with tin oxide particles (about 10 nanometer wide). Using cellulose gum binder and water, they apply the new material to a current collector and place it in Li-ion batteries. In the lab tests, the prototype battery had an initial charge capacity of more than 1520 milliamp hours per gram (mAh/g). After repeated charge-discharge cycles that number began to plateau at about 825 mAh/g.

Researchers from Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Case Western Reserve University and University of North Texas developed a new low-cost metal-free fuel cell catalyst that is based on edge-halogenated graphene nanoplatelets (XGnPs). They say that this new catalyst is a potential replacement for Platinum based ones currently used in fuel cells.

The researchers created the edge-selectively halogenated graphene nanoplatelets by ball-milling graphite flake with chlorine, bromine, or iodine. Experiments have shown that those XGnPs have great oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities with higher tolerance to methanol crossover/CO poisoning effects and longer-term stability (this compared to the original graphite and commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts).

Lomiko Metals, the Research Foundation of Stony Brook University (SBU) and Graphene Labs have signed an agreement to investigate novel, energy-focused graphene applications. The three collaborators will mainly focus on super capacitors and batteries.

California Lithium Battery (CalBattery) were selected as a 2013 TechConnect National Innovation awardee for the development of its breakthrough, very-high specific capacity Lithium-ion silicon-graphene (SiGr) composite anode material. The TechConnect award committee selects the top early-stage innovations from hundreds of technologies from all over the world, and rankings are based on the potential positive impact the technology will have on a specific industry sector.

California Lithium Battery (CalBattery) recently signed a licensing agreement with the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory to commercialize their silicon-graphene composite anode material (called GEN3). CalBattery and Argonne has been working together for over a year under a Work for Others agreement to develop this technology. Back in October 2012 CalBattery said that in independent full cell tests, the material shows unrivaled performance characteristics.

SiNode Systems was chosen as the top startup company in the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition (which they say is the largest business plan competition in the world). SiNode's prize is valued at $911,400, and incldues $700,000 in equity investments, $110,000 in additional cash prizes and $101,400 of business services (including office space, marketing support and business mentoring|).

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.

Researchers from the DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory developed a new catalyst (made from Graphene, molybdenum and soybeans) and that could replace platinum in hyroden-production processes. This new catalyst is the best non-noble-metal one ever developed, and it's even better than a catalyst made from bulk platinum. It can be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be used regenerated into H2 and then be used as fuel.

To make the new catalyst, the researchers ground soybeans into a powder and then mixed it it with ammonium molybdate. Using a high-temperature carburization made the molybdenum react with the carbon and nitrogen in the soybean and that produced molybdenum carbides and molybdenum nitrides. The material was then anchored on sheets of graphene - and this makes the catalyst effecting in devices such as batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, and water electrolyzers.