Correct me if I am wrong but this looks like graphene is going to spoil the Li party going on at the moment?
An interesting sentence for me is "There could also be weight savings of up to 75% due to the absence of metals."
'Due to the absence of metals' Lithium is a metal so that implies there is no Lithium in these new graphene batteries?
...................//................................This info also came from the same source as above..........
The fundamental operating principle of the lithium-ion battery, a leading rechargeable energy storage device, involves movement of lithium-ions into the recesses of a graphite-based electrode (anode) when it is charging. When it is discharging, these ions move back through a liquid electrolyte to a more complicated electrode (cathode) made of compounds containing lithium and other metals.
Lithium-ion technology is the established method, but it is acknowledged that lithium-ion batteries are potentially dangerous. Authorities in Australia are sufficiently concerned that they propose strict new standards for the housing of lithium-ion batteries in domestic locations where residents are seeking to install battery walls. They specify that these walls should be stored in concrete bunkers separate from the home. Maybe these regulations are too tough and there is room for them to be relaxed a little, but the point to remember is that lithium-ion, as a chemical based battery, presents ongoing safety issues.
We need to move on to better technology. The obvious better technology involves physical storage of energy as opposed to electricity from chemical reactions. That takes us to supercapacitors. These devices are much safer as there is no chemical reaction that can lead to fires and explosions. It is simply a matter of filling up the reservoir by plugging it into the power point, and this happens in a fraction of the time that it takes for existing rechargeable batteries. A mobile phone could recharge in 30 seconds rather than an hour or two. A Tesla car might take only five minutes to recharge. There could also be weight savings of up to 75% due to the absence of metals.
The key to new supercapacitors is the use of graphene.
Existing supercapacitors use activated carbon to house energy, but that material has poor interconnectivity of spacing and in reality only achieves 10% of the potential storage capacity. The BEST battery being developed by FGR and Swinburne University of Technology overcomes this problem by using graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO to create nano-pores, using laser technology that enable 10x the storage capacity of existing supercapacitors.
Thus they can now compete with lithium-ion storage but with much faster charging rates. Also, they will last at least 10-20x longer as there is no chemical reaction to degrade cathode or anodes. This promises to be a serious game changer.
We know the science works in the laboratory. The current work program involves the construction of a working prototype AA battery for demonstration purposes, hopefully by the end of 2017. The focus will be on designing manufacturing methods so as to ensure a reasonable unit cost, in scale. So far the market doesn’t seem to understand the risk reward ratio for the BEST battery - the outstanding leverage available to FGR. The Company is committed to spending up to $2m to earn a 70% interest in the global licence, but almost half of this could come back in the form of R&D rebates. What would a manufacturing licence be worth for a product as good as this one promises to be?
How about $1bn as an opening bid? Given that Samsung dropped about US$5bn on its recent Galaxy 7 battery fiasco, US$1bn would be a small price to pay. Would that be the only licence that could be sold? Probably not.
We are all gamblers in the stock market, to a lesser or greater extent. Decisions should be made based on the risk reward equation. Here, FGR is effectively risking no more than $2m for the potential to earn $1bn. You can use your own probability factor, but even a 10% chance of success gives the company a 50x return on its investment. The optionality value is clearly exceptional. Yet, it is still just another example of a number of graphene-based initiatives that make the stock a compelling opportunity.
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