Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced it has developed graphene aluminum ion (G+AI) battery prototype pouch cells with a storage capacity of more than 500 milliampere hours (mAh) and a nominal voltage of about 2 volts.
GMG sees this as a significant development because it demonstrates how it has matured its battery electro-chemistry and assembly techniques to produce pouch cells with more than 10 layers of graphene-coated cathode and aluminum foil anode. The next step is for the company to optimize the assembly techniques of the pouch cell prototypes to achieve repeatable storage capacity of more than 500 mAh cells for the purpose of conducting a variety of standard testing conditions for comparison purposes.
GMG then aims to pursue producing cells with over 20 double-layers to get a storage capacity of 1000 mAh by using an automatic coating machine, cathode laser cutting equipment, and a semi-automatic stacker, to achieve reproducible cells for validation trials.
Under the Rio Tinto Joint Development Agreement, GMG is targeting repeatable capacity of 1000 mAh by the first half of 2024 and then production at scale by the first half of 2025.
The company is developing G+AI battery technology with the University of Queensland, Australia and it sees a wide range of applications for a completed battery.
It said global companies have expressed their interest in working with GMG in sectors including diesel energy replacement, energy storage, personal electronics, aviation, and electric vehicles.