Not sure if i'm Barking up the Wrong Tree here, just trying to put 2 + 2 together when it comes to all things Fullerene / Carbon Nano Tech atm, Science wasn't my Strongest point at School tbo, so bare with me as i'm still half asleep, as
Cylindrical fullerenes are also called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes.
Batteries to meet a modern world
Speaking with R. Michael Jones, CEO of Platinum Group, he says it was clear two years ago that the state of battery technology was inadequate to meet the demands of a rapidly modernising world.
“Cell phone batteries fade after a year of charging and discharging, electric vehicles (EVs) have heavy batteries over 300kg and still there is concern over range” he says. “The modern world has changed from our grandfather’s flashlight battery.”
While lithium is the clear answer to calls for a revolutionised battery type, existing models suffer from short battery lives and overheating – problems that, alongside charge-rate capability, the work of Dr El-Zahab seeks to address.
“The modern lithium battery is good and is a step forward, but it’s still not what we need,” Jones adds.
“Lithium is a likely winner in a battery as it is light and has lots of electrons to work with, so it boasts good electrical properties.
But there are other elements which may offer improvements when added to the chemistry of the battery.”
While demand for platinum and palladium is currently in catalytic converters for petrol-powered vehicles, their known ability to catalyse chemical and fuel-processing reactions means they are a good candidate for enhancing battery performance – offering financial and environmental savings in the process.
While existing lithium-air and lithium-sulphide batteries can be very powerful, cyclability has historically proven a challenge.
In his work, Dr El-Zahab and his team of six specialist nano-materials and battery postdoctoral fellows proved that PGMs helped to not only stimulate the reaction, but also improved the charge-discharge cycle.
To determine the effectiveness of these materials in batteries, the team is running ‘hundreds’ of experimental cells, tracking the performance every day and adapting the structure and PGM to find optimal performance.
What’s next?
Progress of the new battery is well underway, with the FIU team completing their first year of research and surpassing their first technical milestone.
* The patent – entitled ‘Battery Cathodes for Improved Stability’- is a major success for the project, and includes the use of carbon nanotubes and other innovations in a lithium battery.
Awarded to FIU, the university signed a sponsored agreement with Lion with regards to research and patent applications.
“The initial patent grant is the first significant milestone towards our objectives to both capitalise on a true cutting-edge innovation and drive demand for PGMs at the same time,” Jones stated in a release on the matter.
Jones believes that as we increasingly adapt our grid to make way for widespread EV adoption, so the market for cheaper, lighter, and more powerful lithium batteries will grow, and ensuring cyclability is maintained will become a priority for many.
It is also expected that these novel battery types will be used in a range of applications such as electronic devices.
“Batteries are in the technology now – but a stair step up of 3X to 5X in battery performance will make EVs and devices that much more capable,” says Jones.
“It will take three to five years to bring the science innovation into commercial batteries, but the potential is very large.”
I'm pretty sure this stuff has been touched on in the past, re:- Batteries, as it's hard keeping up with everything across all your Investments + HC info day in, day out, not sure about this recent article being posted before, anyway, No harm if it has, as some punters might not + get a better understanding of the Potential Markets ADN is involved with moving forward atm.
Cheers
Frank
ADN Price at posting:
27.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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