Graphene for Automotive - Page 18

A few days ago Canada-based Group NanoXplore announced that it is will merge with Graniz Modal to become a public company that trades in the Canadian stock exchange. NanoXPlore's CEO and President, Dr. Soroush Nazarpour, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had regarding this IPO and NanoXplore's business.

Q: Group NanoXplore is set to become a public company soon, following the merger with Graniz Modal. Can you detail the effect this will have on NanoXplore?

Henrik Fisker, initiator of a project to start an electric car company relying on a long-range battery that uses graphene, recently stated that the company's upcoming electric luxury sedan will use lithium-ion batteries to power the car rather than the graphene battery technology currently under development for future models.

EMotion is slated to officially debut on August 17, 2017 with a tentative release in 2019. Pricing starts at $129,900, placing it in the same range as Tesla Model S. It will be interesting to see at what point, if at all, graphene-based batteries will be used in these cars.

Graphene 3D Lab and AzTrong have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which outlines the terms of the agreement to be executed in the near future. This collaboration will aim to achieve cost effective production of performance-improving graphene-based products with focus on energy storage, construction, automotive and defense sectors.

Subject to the final agreement, Graphene 3D Lab will continue to develop formulations for graphene-related products while conducting tests and quality control measurements. G3L will also contribute its extensive knowledge in marketing for the graphene related products, while AzT will perform the large-scale manufacturing of the products. The products will be distributed by both companies including the e-commerce web stores, Graphene Supermarket, BlackMagic3D and G6-Epoxy, operated by Graphene 3D.

Researchers at The University of Alabama used graphene to fabricate a lighter car hood, as part of an attempt to reduce the weight of a Chevrolet Camaro. The new hood is made of a mixture of graphene and carbon fiber, as opposed to the original hood which is made of aluminum.

The hood is half the weight of the original hood, a crucial adjustment as a larger team of students work to turn the Camaro into a plug-in hybrid as part of a national contest called EcoCAR 3.

Researchers from the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute and the Ural Federal University in Russia have discovered a way to make an extremely thin oxygen selective membrane using graphene. Such membranes allow only oxygen into Li-O₂ batteries while stopping or slowing water vapor intake. This could impede corrosion caused by ambient water vapor from air and push forward the usability of much-awaited Li-O₂ batteries in electric vehicles and more.

The team has developed an in situ technique to induce pores in graphene by doping it with nitrogen during the growth process. Doping the graphene sheet with nitrogen inevitably breaks some carbon bonds in graphene, opening nanoscopic pores. The researchers observed that such pores in doped graphene selectively allow oxygen, leading to oxidation of the underlying copper foil, unlike pristine graphene.

China's Hybrid Kinetic Group, a producer of lithium-ion batteries and hybrid vehicles, announced its aim to build car assemblies in three to five locations across China, with an initial production capacity of 300,000 units within three years, eventually expanding the capacity to 1 million units. While not many details were given, it was said that some of the models are to be powered by a 30 kilowatt battery using graphene with a 60 kw micro turbine power generator that theoretically can extend the battery’s range to 1,000 kilometers on each charge.

The H600 prototype by HKG

HKG is using US technology, and has commissioned designs by the Mahindra Group’s design studio Pininfarina. The company stated that expansion of the production will depend on the market reactions. and that negotiations with car part makers are going on smoothly.

Skeleton Technologies, developer and manufacturer of high energy and power density supercapacitors, has announced launching a new graphene-based engine start module to help power heavy industry vehicles in extreme conditions. Called SkelStart Engine Start Module 2.0, it is available in 24V and 12V versions and is based on the graphene-based SkelCap supercapacitors, which Skeleton says provide the highest power and energy density on the market.

The new module’s casing is made of non-flammable material that is resistant to vibration and shock, and is a stud terminal device in BCI Group 31 size. Skeleton states that SkelStart Engine Start modules are designed to provide reliable engine starting in even the harshest conditions, as well as reduced ongoing costs on maintenance and replacement. Businesses can therefore expect their equipment to work cost effectively year-round, affording them peace of mind.

Update: Our sources in china say that it is highly unlikely that this battery actually has any graphene materials in it...

Chinese battery manufacturer Chaowei Power launched a new version of its Black Gold battery — a lead-acid battery that reportedly uses graphene as an additive. The company states that the battery resistance is reduced by 52% and that performance of the battery in low temperature operations has been greatly improved.

Chaowei makes lithium and lead acid automotive batteries under the Chilwee brand. Its Black Gold high-energy VRLA series was launched in February 29, 2016, when it reportedly first applied graphene technology to a commercial, mass-produced rechargeable lead battery.

One of the surprises about to be unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show is rumored to be a Chinese project - an all-electric vehicle by Pininfarina, being completed for Hybrid Kinetic Group (HK Motors of Hong Kong). The H600 luxury sedan is said to be relying on graphene-based battery technology to deliver high and lasting power.

While technical specifications and range are not yet available, the graphene battery in the sedan expected to launch soon should have around 50-100 times the power density of comparable lithium-ion batteries and 5-10 times the energy density.

Wuxi JCNO Materials, a company located in the Wuxi Graphene Industry Zone in China, has created a graphene-based electrostatic speaker. The speakers are reportedly constructed using graphene resin composite materials, able to produce medium and low bass sounds that conventional metal resin compounds cannot reach. The graphene speaker is also said to be simpler, longer-lasting and cheaper to produce than traditional technology.

Electrostatic speakers sound by vibrating the diaphragm before and after with the action of electrostatic force. It can capture the extremely small changes in the music signal to fully show the nuances of the music. This kind of speaker has already been used in applications like cars, theaters and exhibitions.