Sustainable batteries have long been the wet dream of skilled scientists and researchers. Toxic raw materials and complex recycling technology have been obstacles on the road towards the goal. But, now Sorbiforce, a Delaware-based technology company, based on a scientific startup from Ukraine, claims to have the solution with zero environmental impact and a production using 100 % renewable materials and no metals at all – neither rare earth metals nor other precious or toxic heavy metals are required.
The story behind Sorbiforce started in 2017, when the Ukrainian researchers received the first samples of highly porous carbon materials. This is the main component in the battery and the carbon fraction is fully recyclable – it can even be used as a fertiliser.
From prototypes with a specific energy density of 45-60 Wh/kg Sorbiforce has now launched its first 2 kWh batteries for use as energy storage. Sorbiforce founder and CTO Serhii Kaminskyi claims that the new battery offers a unique twin combination of supercapacitor and battery processes, which offers excellent charging and discharging times. He also says that the technology will be cheaper than present lithium-ion options.
The DEL double electrical layers process (supercapacitor) is very fast. The Faraday process is more equal to conventional battery processes. The Sorbiforce team has also studied electrosorption, which combines both above processes.
Sorbiforce intends to enter the market of industrial energy storage thanks to the versality of the battery chemistry, well suited to large-scale applications – solar and wind power parks, frequency stabilisation in the grid etc. Regarding safety the new battery is resistant to mechanical damage, and it is also non-flammable and cannot be overcharged.
Recently Sorbiforce joined forces with the University of Arizona’s Center for Innovation. This cooperation is supposed to even the path into the US energy storage market.
