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Renewable energy is having a bumper year - despite the political uncertainties. Glenn Hunt
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by Angela Macdonald-Smith
Flexible printed batteries used in applications ranging from skin treatment patches to parcel tracking could be on the market within three years under a project backed by high-profile coal champions Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery.
The $11 million project by Printed Energy, owned equally by the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund and Mr Flannery's family company Ganra, has won $2 million of funding from the Commonwealth government's Cooperative Research Centre Projects initiative.
The funds will advance work with the aim of the first printed battery products, most likely in the healthcare sector, reaching the market in three years, said Printed Energy chief executive Rodger Whitby.
The technology enables ultra-thin batteries to be printed on a newspaper roll-like printer in high volumes, allowing the micro storage devices to be integrated with other printed electronic devices during the manufacturing process. The batteries are printed using successive layers of electronic ink, most likely on to a plastic – rather than paper – film.
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A Panasonic lithium-ion flexible battery that's just 0.55 millimeters thick. Koji Ueda
While most processes in the emerging printed battery sector use lithium-based polymer chemistry, Printed stands out by using cheaper, zinc-manganese technology, which also avoids any toxicity issues, Mr Rodger noted.
Revolutionise everyday life
Mr St Baker, the founder of ERM Power and a staunch supporter of baseload coal to minimise electricity prices, said the printed batteries have the ability to revolutionise everyday life.
"It's literally the printing of solid state batteries in a thin, flexible format that can be adapted to almost any shape," he said.
Mr St Baker said the batteries could also be significant for industrial applications in renewable energy. Laminated onto the back of solar panels, they could provide in-built storage and allow panels to supply power through the night, to back up solar generation through the day.
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The $11 million project owned equally by Trevor St Baker's St Baker (pictured) Energy Innovation Fund and Brian Flannery's family company Ganray. Robert Shakespeare
They are also expected to be used in "internet of things" devices to power in-built sensors, and in applications such as food packaging to power temperature sensors in, for example, lettuce or meat packaging, Mr Rodger said. Applications in clothing are envisaged in sports gear to power heart-rate monitors, for example.
Printed Energy has put $1.5 million of funding into the project, while a further $500,000 has been provided by the University of Queensland and the University of NSW together with pharmaceutical company Sonovia Holdings to provide the industry funds to match the government grant. Printed Energy is providing $6 million of the further $7 million of "in-kind" assistance for the project. Lithium concentrate
Separately, the federal government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation is to invest about $20 million into a mining project led by Pilbara Minerals to produce lithium concentrate, an essential ingredient used in electric vehicles and battery storage.
The funding for Pilbara's $234 million Pilgangoora open-pit lithium mine represents the Turnbull government's first investment in a mining project of its kind in Western Australia, according to Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg. Construction of the mine, which got the final go-ahead from Pilbara's board last week, is due to commence in early 2018.
The funding takes the form of a cornerstone investment in Pilbara's recent $US100 million ($131 million) secured bond issue, which will fund the lithium-tantalum project, being developed about 120 kilometres south of Port Hedland.
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