Advanced battery material company NanoGraf has developed a breakthrough silicon-anode based lithium-ion 18650 cylindrical cell.
The company claims its 3.8 Ah, 18650 cell can achieve 800 watt-hour per litre (Wh/L) and provides a 28% longer run time than traditional cell chemistries— although the cycle life was not disclosed.
NanoGraf’s team of scientists, technologists, and engineers unveiled the cell they say could benefit any application from consumer electronics to electric vehicles thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
NanoGraf president, Dr. Kurt Breitenkamp, said: “This is a breakthrough for the battery industry. Energy density has plateaued, only increasing eight percent or so over the last decade.
“We just achieved a 10 percent increase in a little under a year. This is over a decade’s worth of innovation in one technology.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded NanoGraf a $1.65 million grant to develop longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries to power U.S. military equipment.
The funding required NanoGraf to develop a battery cell that can operate across a temperature range from -4°F to 131°F, and has a shelf life of more than two years.
In 2019, NanoGraf, formerly SiNode Systems, was awarded a $7.5 million grant to develop its graphite anode replacement product ahead of commercialisation plans.
The funding from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research, was awarded for a 36-month project.
