Australian battery technology company Nano-Nouvelle has contracted two specialist US manufacturers to test how its groundbreaking 3D nanotechnology can improve their battery performance.
The companies, which manufacture high performance batteries for specialised industries such as aerospace, will test how Nano-Nouvelle’s Nanode nanomaterials work with their batteries.
Nano-Nouvelle CEO Stephanie Moroz said these high performance battery manufacturers were ideal partners for the company’s technology.
“They provide a great initial entry point for us. It’s hard to go from zero to high volume production, however Nano-Nouvelle is in a good position to support field trials by specialist companies, which work at smaller volumes, are less cost sensitive and are incredibly focussed on improving the performance of their batteries,” she said.
“As Tesla proved with its Roadster EV sportscar, this sort of low-volume, high-margin starting point can provide a high visibility platform to demonstrate the benefits of innovative technology, which can accelerate its adoption by mass market manufacturers.”
Nano-Nouvelle is developing groundbreaking nanotechnology that can increase the energy storage capacity of lithium ion batteries by as much as 50%.
Ms Moroz , who met with the executives from the two companies at the 18th International Meeting on Lithium Batteries, said the company’s focus has now shifted towards maximising energy capacity and performance lifetime for batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), which last year passed the one million car milestone globally.
“Whereas two years ago, it was mainly about portable electronics and wearables, the focus is now on batteries for EVs and energy storage,” she said.
“People want to drive EVs and put energy storage batteries in their homes, but the delay between a scientific breakthrough and a commercial product can take as long as 10 years. The good news for us from this conference is that the battery industry has stopped chasing blue sky technologies to focus on improving lithium ion performance, which is where our products can deliver real value.”
The company’s core technology, the Nanode, overcomes the current limitations of high energy and high power batteries by using nanotechnology to create a conductive membrane with complex 3D surfaces.
This patent-protected technology pushes the boundaries of high performance battery electrodes, effectively laying the foundation for a new generation of high capacity batteries.
Ms Moroz said Nano-Nouvelle was already working with specialist battery manufacturers and mass market companies to demonstrate that its technology not only improved battery performance, but could also be deployed easily into existing production systems.
“We’re looking to make it plug and play for battery manufacturers,” she said.
“Our goal is for them to take our electrode, match it with their other components and run it through their standard assembly processes. While they end up making higher performance batteries, the actual production deployment will require minimal effort on their part.”
