Graphene for Automotive

Project Arrow aims to develop an all-electric SUV concept with autonomous driving capabilities, and is a collaboration between nearly 60 different companies in Canada (led by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA)). In 2023, at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) event in Las Vegas, a fully operational prototype was unveiled.

Project Arrow concept unveiled at CES

Now, the Canadian government announced a new investment of CAD$7 million (just over USD$5 million) in the project.

Solidion Technology has announced that it has been granted a patent on a cost-effective graphene-based strategy for enabling completion of charging in 5 minutes for a wide range of lithium batteries.

Range anxiety, the fear that an electric vehicle (EV) may run out of battery power during a trip, has long been regarded as a key reason for consumers' reluctance to adopt EVs. This issue is exacerbated by the notion that recharging batteries usually takes much longer time than refueling internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). To be competitive with ICEVs, fast charging of EVs should be weather-independent and comparable in time as refueling a gasoline car. Variations in temperatures in different geographic regions and seasons poses a challenge in fast charging EV batteries, since batteries can behave very differently. None of today's EV batteries allow for fast charging at low temperatures.

It was reported that Indian electric vehicle brand Komaki has introduced the new model of Cat 3.0 NXT that comes with two battery variants, Graphene and LIPO4, and will be available for Rs. 1,19,999 (around USD$1400) and Rs. 1,49,999 (almost USD$1800). The unveiling of this EV is aimed at last-mile delivery operators, enabling sustainable all-day use and supporting SMEs and MSMEs in growing their businesses. 

The EV features app-based battery options, Graphene and LIPO4, giving a range of over 180 km to 200 km on a single charge, depending on the battery type. 

First Graphene has secured funding for a collaborative research project with Swansea University to determine the market potential of the Company’s Kainos Technology.

The grant is valued at approximately AU$192,152 (over USD$130,000) and was secured through Analysis for Innovators (A4i) Round 12, Stage 2 funding, delivered by Innovate UK. The funding is specifically meant for businesses utilizing expertise from leading research facilities across the UK to overcome
productivity or technical barriers of new technologies towards market readiness.

Solidion Technology has announced that its silicon-rich anode material has passed a critical milestone test. The Company stated that its silicon/graphene anode materials have been validated by an EV OEM-appointed third party, that found that its silicon composition is on par with Silane gas-derived Si at a substantially lower cost to EV manufacturers.

The quantity of energy that a lithium-ion battery can supply to an electric vehicle (EV) is limited by the amount of charges stored in its anode and cathode materials. Although graphite has been the preferred anode material during the past 30 years, Industry-leading EV OEMs have reportedly concluded that silicon anode is required to drive EV battery technology to lower cost and provide higher energy density, significantly extending the EV driving range. Specifically, silicon (Si) is a leading-edge anode material capable of extending the EV range by 20-40%. However, the higher-capacity gain is limited by the technical issue of large volume change-induced rapid capacity decay. Additionally, most of the silicon-based anode materials have suffered from processing difficulty using current lithium-ion battery equipment and process.

Lyten and the Luxembourg Future Fund 2 (LFF2) have announced that LFF2 has made an equity investment into Lyten.

The investment in Lyten follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in October 2023 to establish Lyten’s European headquarters in Luxembourg. The investment highlights Luxembourg’s commitment to advancing clean technologies and incorporating them into the European economy. Through this partnership, Lyten and Luxembourg will collaborate on research and development and the introduction of several Lyten products into the European market including its lithium-sulfur EV battery.

An India-based EV startup called iVOOMi has launched the S1 Lite, an electric scooter available with two battery options, Graphene and Li-ion. 

The graphene unit offers a range of up to 75 km and takes 7-8 hours to charge fully, while the Li-ion pack provides a range of up to 85 km and can be charged in under 4 hours. Both variants feature a 1.2 kW motor with 1.8 kW peak power and 10.1 Nm of torque.

Solidion Technology, an advanced battery technology solutions provider, has announced its plan to begin expanding the production capacity of silicon-rich graphene composite materials in early 2025.

The amount of energy that a lithium-ion battery can supply to an electric vehicle (EV) is limited by the amount of charges stored in its anode and cathode materials. Although graphite has been the preferred anode material during the past 30 years, silicon oxide (SiOx) and silicon (Si) are two evolving anode materials capable of improving the energy density of EV batteries and extending the EV range by 20-40%. However, the higher-capacity gain of both silicon and silicon oxide is limited by the technical issue of large volume change-induced rapid capacity decay and processing difficulty. Solidion has targeted this technical obstacle and has established a Dayton, Ohio-based facility for manufacturing silicon oxide (SiOx) and silicon (Si). The Solidion team is ready to expand the production capacity for these two types of high-capacity anode materials.

Sparc Technologies has announced the commencement of ecosparc (its flagship graphene-based additive product) field trials with the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).

The steel piles for the Streaky Bay Jetty remediation project have been delivered to DIT for blasting and coating. Sparc has provided both the ecosparc-enhanced and control coating to DIT and agreed the arrangement of the steel piles on the project. 

Haydale recently displayed, for the first time in public, its revolutionary new solution to automotive seat heating labelled the ‘Hot Seat’ at the NEC in Birmingham. Using the Company's patented process and unique materials, Haydale has developed an alternative to existing automotive seat heating technology.

This interesting graphene application is based on the production of a seat heater that is faster to heat, uses less energy and offers a green and eco-friendly alternative to the current solutions. Using the same technology in place for their Underfloor Heating range of products under development, Haydale has now adapted this to provide a novel application for heated seating.