Gridtential Energy has won the Sally Miksiewicz Innovation Award for its Silicon Joule technology.
The award was presented to the company at BCI’s annual convention in Tucson, Arizona today.
The technology, still in development, is claimed to extend life up to five times that of conventional lead-acid batteries.
The Sally Miksiewicz award was established following the tragic death of the CEO and vice-chairman of East Penn manufacturing in 2014.
Gridtential says its bi-polar silicon technology “provides it with the power density associated with lithium technology, while still retaining the low cost, recyclability, long cycle life, wide temperature range and safety of lead”.
Using silicon wafers as current collectors instead of lead plates leads to a 40% reduction in lead usage in the Silicon Joule battery, reducing the overall weight of the units.
Last year, Gridtential completed an $11 million Series B equity raise to boost “commercial opportunities” for the technology in hybrid vehicle, grid storage and other global markets— after it gained a $6 million of investment from a group of lead-acid battery players, to support its further cost reductions and scaling of manufacturing processes to deliver 12-48V batteries.
Hal Hawk, the CEO from one of Gridtential’s investors, deep-cycle battery firm Crown Battery, said: “Lead-acid batteries are the most cost-effective, safest form of energy storage— and they’re more recyclable than an aluminium can. Now, they’re even better, because Gridtential’s new technology combines the safety, recyclability, and ROI of lead-acid batteries with up to 5X greater power density, lighter weight, and more than double the lifespan.”
Gridtential was founded in 2010 and is based in Santa Clara. The firm appointed John Barton as the company’s new CEO and welcomed Bob Gruenstern to its technical advisory board last October, to help accelerate its plans to commercialise its patented technology.