Three firms have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to identify opportunities for the advancement of key battery market segments.
The MoU was signed by materials manufacturer Focus Graphite, lithium-ion battery maker Braille Energy Systems, graphene company Grafoid and Australian battery casing company Vaulta.
An area of interest is Vaulta’s graphene battery case, where heat spreads evenly throughout the pack to enhance safety and extend battery cycle-life.
The cases, which use a blend of graphene and polymer, will be tested through Braille’s network in the automotive starter battery industry.
Brailles’s president and CEO, Lindsay Weatherdon, said: “Vaulta’s new designs allow for dramatic improvements in weight, strength and thermal and electrical conductivity.
“A reduction in the number of parts and the size also delivers a greatly reduced cost to market as well as greater opportunity for reuse and recycling of parts.”
The MOU also creates a framework for the firms to work collaboratively on establishing viable projects and marketing activities to achieve increased market penetration and revenue potential.
Additionally, the companies will explore cost-effective manufacturing in North America and conduct market analysis to identify new sectors of interest and co-develop products.
The companies plan to combine resources to evaluate, design methodologies and develop the use of advanced materials suitable for end market product development.
On 1 March, Focus Graphite submitted a provisional patent application related to the field of electrode materials and, in particular, the processes for making a new generation of lithium-ion battery anode materials.
