Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has provided a progress update on its Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery technology (“G+A CELLS”) being developed by GMG and the University of Queensland (“UQ”) under a Joint Development Agreement with Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest metals and mining groups, and with the support of the Battery Innovation Center of Indiana (“BIC”) in the United States of America.
Increase in Energy Density for G+A CELLS since December ’25 Update
The GMG G+A CELLS have reportedly demonstrated superior performance characteristics when compared to a representative market leading ultra-fast charging batteries, the Lithium Titanate Oxide (“LTO”) batteries, which can be sold at a premium price of up to US$1200/kWh.
GMG has now developed a completely new hybrid electrolyte that is chloride free and non-corrosive, unlike common aluminium battery electrolytes, along with a complex cathode and anode technology that enables very stable fast charging over hundreds of cycles. The substrate for both the cathode and anode in the G+A CELLS is aluminium foil - which provides significant cost and weight savings compared with copper, the substrate material used in most lithium and sodium-ion batteries. GMG’s technology does not include the use of lithium or copper. The Company has submitted an additional patent application covering these new developments.
GMG believes that it has significantly met the key target specification requirements for use in heavy mobile equipment, its main targeted use case, including:
- Charging in under 6 minutes;
- Energy density > 100 Wh/kg after 1 hour of charging; and
- Safe (no Lithium).
The next battery development steps include the following activities:
- Test and show no thermal battery management system neededTest and show no thermal battery management system needed
- Test and show cycle life up to 10,000 cycles
- Test and show ambient temperature impacts
- Test and show standard safety testing
Craig Nicol, GMG Managing Director and CEO, commented: “This is a significant step up from where we were at with battery performance in December 2025 and we see the required performance for our targeted use case being largely met - which means we can start to put together the next stages of the battery maturation program – including partnerships and manufacturing plans.”
GMG management believes that the G+A CELLS can eventually achieve over 160 Wh/kg when charged in 1 hour, and over 80 Wh/kg when charged in 6 minutes with further development of the cathode, anode, electrolyte and component weights.
The battery technology readiness level (“BTRL”) of the G+A CELLS remains at Level 4, whilst significantly progressed through this level. GMG is currently in the process of completing the optimization of the electrochemical behavior for the pouch cells via ongoing laboratory experimentation. Through collaboration with BIC, it is anticipated that the battery technology readiness will ultimately progress to BTRL 7 and 8 since the equipment and processes needed to produce the G+A CELLS are the same as those employed to make Lithium-Ion Batteries, though no definitive timeline for achievement can be provided at this time.
The Company is confident it can meet the overall timeline of its battery cell roadmap that calls for testing of cells with customers in 2026 and small commercial production with support of various partners, including BIC, in 2027
