Graphene materials supplier Nanotech Energy has closed its Series C preferred round of funding at $27.5 million.
The final number included a “shoe” to allow for an additional $2.5 million to accommodate the oversubscription of the participation/funding round, which was expected to close at $25 million.
This round of funding will allow the start-up to expand production of its graphene batteries and facilitate efforts to increase large-scale manufacturing of its graphene for use in downstream applications.
Dr. Maher El-Kady, co-founder and chief technology officer of Nanotech Energy, said lithium-ion batteries had transformed the way society uses energy, yet there are a number of documented safety issues.
The funding dovetails with the company’s development and production of its non-flammable, lithium battery Nanotech Energy Graphene Super Battery.
He said: “We perfected the battery by utilising the extraordinary electronic and mechanical properties of graphene to increase the battery capacity.
“To further increase the safety of a lithium-ion battery, we took a step further by designing a non-flammable electrolyte that can withstand operation at high temperatures without catching fire.”
Graphene is an excellent conductor of electricity, which prevents the battery from overheating, and can withstand the volume changes of the battery electrodes during charge and discharge, reducing the chances of an internal short circuit.
Dr. Richard Kaner, Nanotech co-founder and UCLA Professor of Chemistry and of Materials Science and Engineering, said: “Most industries and end users are confined to the technology of lithium-ion batteries, from smartphone and laptop manufacturers to automotive manufacturers to the consumer at large.
“They are limited to a battery technology that is well-known and documented to be dangerous— highly combustible and flammable.
“You have advanced and successful industries relying on a dangerous yet vital technology for decades. Nanotech Energy now offers all of these industries a path toward a safe and more powerful battery technology – a game changer for them.”