Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News
Graphene and batteries
Graphene, a sheet of carbon atoms bound together in a honeycomb lattice pattern, is hugely recognized as a wonder material due to the myriad of astonishing attributes it holds. It is a potent conductor of electrical and thermal energy, extremely lightweight chemically inert, and flexible with a large surface area. It is also considered eco-friendly and sustainable, with unlimited possibilities for numerous applications.
The advantages of graphene batteries
In the field of batteries, conventional battery electrode materials (and prospective ones) are significantly improved when enhanced with graphene. A graphene battery can be light, durable and suitable for high capacity energy storage, as well as shorten charging times. It will extend the battery's life, which is negatively linked to the amount of carbon that is coated on the material or added to electrodes to achieve conductivity, and graphene adds conductivity without requiring the amounts of carbon that are used in conventional batteries.
Graphene can improve such battery attributes as energy density and form in various ways. Li-ion batteries (and other types of rechargeable batteries) can be enhanced by introducing graphene to the battery's anode and capitalizing on the material's conductivity and large surface area traits to achieve morphological optimization and performance.
It has also been discovered that creating hybrid materials can also be useful for achieving battery enhancement. A hybrid of Vanadium Oxide (VO2) and graphene, for example, can be used on Li-ion cathodes and grant quick charge and discharge as well as large charge cycle durability. In this case, VO2 offers high energy capacity but poor electrical conductivity, which can be solved by using graphene as a sort of a structural backbone on which to attach VO2 - creating a hybrid material that has both heightened capacity and excellent conductivity.
Another example is LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries, that is a kind of rechargeable Li-ion battery. It has a lower energy density than other Li-ion batteries but a higher power density (an indicator of of the rate at which energy can be supplied by the battery). Enhancing LFP cathodes with graphene allowed the batteries to be lightweight, charge much faster than Li-ion batteries and have a greater capacity than conventional LFP batteries.
In addition to revolutionizing the battery market, combined use of graphene batteries and graphene supercapacitors could yield amazing results, like the noted concept of improving the electric car's driving range and efficiency. While graphene batteries have not yet reached widespread commercialization, battery breakthroughs are being reported around the world.
Battery basics
Batteries serve as a mobile source of power, allowing electricity-operated devices to work without being directly plugged into an outlet. While many types of batteries exist, the basic concept by which they function remains similar: one or more electrochemical cells convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. A battery is usually made of a metal or plastic casing, containing a positive terminal (an anode), a negative terminal (a cathode) and electrolytes that allow ions to move between them. A separator (a permeable polymeric membrane) creates a barrier between the anode and cathode to prevent electrical short circuits while also allowing the transport of ionic charge carriers that are needed to close the circuit during the passage of current. Finally, a collector is used to conduct the charge outside the battery, through the connected device.
When the circuit between the two terminals is completed, the battery produces electricity through a series of reactions. The anode experiences an oxidation reaction in which two or more ions from the electrolyte combine with the anode to produce a compound, releasing electrons. At the same time, the cathode goes through a reduction reaction in which the cathode substance, ions and free electrons combine into compounds. Simply put, the anode reaction produces electrons while the reaction in the cathode absorbs them and from that process electricity is produced. The battery will continue to produce electricity until electrodes run out of necessary substance for creation of reactions.
Battery types and characteristics
Batteries are divided into two main types: primary and secondary. Primary batteries (disposable), are used once and rendered useless as the electrode materials in them irreversibly change during charging. Common examples are the zinc-carbon battery as well as the alkaline battery used in toys, flashlights and a multitude of portable devices. Secondary batteries (rechargeable), can be discharged and recharged multiple times as the original composition of the electrodes is able to regain functionality. Examples include lead-acid batteries used in vehicles and lithium-ion batteries used for portable electronics.
Batteries come in various shapes and sizes for countless different purposes. Different kinds of batteries display varied advantages and disadvantages. Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) batteries are relatively low in energy density and are used where long life, high discharge rate and economical price are key. They can be found in video cameras and power tools, among other uses. NiCd batteries contain toxic metals and are environmentally unfriendly. Nickel-Metal hydride batteries have a higher energy density than NiCd ones, but also a shorter cycle-life. Applications include mobile phones and laptops. Lead-Acid batteries are heavy and play an important role in large power applications, where weight is not of the essence but economic price is. They are prevalent in uses like hospital equipment and emergency lighting.
Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries are used where high-energy and minimal weight are important, but the technology is fragile and a protection circuit is required to assure safety. Applications include cell phones and various kinds of computers. Lithium Ion Polymer (Li-ion polymer) batteries are mostly found in mobile phones. They are lightweight and enjoy a slimmer form than that of Li-ion batteries. They are also usually safer and have longer lives. However, they seem to be less prevalent since Li-ion batteries are cheaper to manufacture and have higher energy density.
Batteries and supercapacitors
While there are certain types of batteries that are able to store a large amount of energy, they are very large, heavy and release energy slowly. Capacitors, on the other hand, are able to charge and discharge quickly but hold much less energy than a battery. The use of graphene in this area, though, presents exciting new possibilities for energy storage, with high charge and discharge rates and even economical affordability. Graphene-improved performance thereby blurs the conventional line of distinction between supercapacitors and batteries.
Graphene batteries combine the advantages of both batteries and supercapacitors
Graphene-enhanced batteries are almost here
Graphene-based batteries have exciting potential and while they are not yet fully commercially available yet, R&D is intensive and will hopefully yield results in the future. Companies all over the world (including Samsung, Huawei, various startups and others) are developing different types of graphene-enhanced batteries, some of which are now entering the market. The main applications are in electric vehicles and mobile devices.
Some batteries use graphene in peripheral ways - not in the battery chemistry. Examples include thermal management systems, composite casings and more.
Further reading
- Introduction to graphene
- Graphene Supercapacitors
- How to invest in the graphene revolution
- The Graphene Handbook, our very own guide to the graphene market
- Graphene-Info's graphene batteries market report
- Graphene supercapacitors market report
New graphene oxide-based catalyst boosts zinc-air battery performance
Researchers at CICATA-Legaria, the National Laboratory for Energy Conversion and Storage at Mexico's Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) in Mexico City, have developed a composite of pyridine-coordinated transition-metal nitroprussides and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a bifunctional pre-electrocatalyst for zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Testing cobalt, nickel, and copper versions of the material, the team found that each metal favors a different half of the battery's oxygen chemistry, with the cobalt variant striking the best overall balance.
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries are attractive for their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and inherent safety, but their air cathode has to drive both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) during discharge and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during charging, reactions with sluggish kinetics that typically require different types of catalysts. The field's benchmark catalysts, platinum for ORR and iridium or ruthenium oxides for OER, are scarce and expensive, pushing research toward cheaper first-row transition metals such as cobalt, nickel, and copper. Nitroprussides, a family of cyanometallate coordination polymers with the general formula T[Fe(CN)5NO], offered the team a synthetically simple, structurally tunable starting point for that search.
Solidion resolves going-concern doubt and reports a second consecutive quarter of revenue
Solidion Technology (Nasdaq: STI), the advanced battery developer that emerged from the 2024 merger of Global Graphene Group's Honeycomb Battery Technology with Nubia Brand International, has reported its Q2 2026 results, showing a substantially rebuilt balance sheet and a second straight quarter of revenue.
The company closed the quarter with $27.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, against $0.2 million at the end of 2025. Following the completion of its $35 million private placement in June, Solidion said the substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, previously disclosed, has been alleviated. The company also restructured its August 2024 equity financing, eliminating all Series C and D pre-funded warrants along with the associated derivative liability - a move it says reduces future dilution risk. Long-term investors Madison Bond LLC and Bayside Project LLC converted their entire warrant allocation into common stock and agreed to lock-up restrictions on those shares.
Volt Carbon and TensorOne to test graphene-enhanced lithium metal batteries on autonomous drones
Volt Carbon Technologies and TensorOne have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate and develop advanced battery and carbon technologies for next-generation autonomous Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and AI-enabled counter-UAS platforms. The MOU is a three-party agreement also naming Solid Ultrabattery Inc., Volt Carbon's wholly owned subsidiary.
Under the agreement, the parties intend to evaluate integrating Solid Ultrabattery's lithium metal battery technology with Volt Carbon's graphene and carbon materials on TensorOne's autonomous UAS platforms. The work is to include engineering validation, laboratory and flight testing, manufacturing evaluations, and the pursuit of future commercialization opportunities.
NanoMalaysia to begin production of graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery for EVs
Reports suggest that NanoMalaysia (NMB), a company under the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), will be starting small-scale production of a homegrown graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery for use in electric vehicles (EVs).
Developed at a cost of around RM20 million (almost US$5 million), the battery will be produced at Gigafactory Malaysia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NanoMalaysia. Incorporated in 2011.
Molecularly engineered COF-graphene interlayer boosts Li-S battery performance
Researchers from Lanzhou University, Tohoku University and SRM University have developed a molecularly engineered covalent organic framework (COF)-graphene interface that addresses two persistent challenges in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries: polysulfide shuttling and sluggish conversion kinetics.
Li–S batteries are widely regarded as a next-generation energy storage technology due to sulfur’s high theoretical capacity and natural abundance. However, their practical deployment has been hindered by the dissolution and migration of intermediate lithium polysulfides (Li₂Sₙ), which leads to active material loss, parasitic reactions and rapid capacity decay over repeated cycles. To tackle this issue, the researchers designed a new COF, termed TUS-44, constructed via Schiff-base condensation between a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based tetraaniline node and a benzocrown-6-derived tetrabenzaldehyde linker. The resulting material is an imine-linked, π-conjugated framework with a two-dimensional topology, uniform micropores of approximately 0.9 and 1.2 nm, and a BET surface area of about 516 m² g⁻¹.
TCMC launches Carbonix Materials to establish US supply chain for graphene and advanced battery materials
Taiwan Carbon Materials Corporation (TCMC) has launched Carbonix Materials as its US subsidiary, establishing operations in New York State to build a domestic supply chain for advanced battery and thermal-management materials. The expansion is led by TCMC co-founder and CEO Dr. Yi-Jun Lin, with Binghamton, NY selected as the company’s US hub.
Founded in 2020, TCMC develops advanced carbon-based materials used in lithium-ion batteries, thermal management systems, and graphene films designed for heat dissipation. The company’s products are already in use by electronics manufacturers, energy storage developers, and research institutions across Asia and Europe, and its technology portfolio includes more than 45 patents.
SHT launches new graphene-based product called GT50R
Chalmers University spin off, SHT Smart High-Tech, has launched a new graphene-based product called GT50R, designed for battery cooling and power electronics. GT50R is developed from recycled waste material.
The product's properties are said to "open new market opportunities" for the company, particularly within battery cooling for electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as the cooling of complex power electronics: segments that demand higher mechanical performance than existing materials on the market can currently provide.
Graphene-Info publishes a new edition of its Graphene Batteries Market Report
Today we published a new edition of our Graphene Batteries Market Report, with all the latest information and updates from companies and researchers in the field. The batteries market is extremely active, as demand from EVs and mobile applications increases R&D efforts, and graphene is seen as a potential material to increase capacity, decrease charging times and improve other performance metrics.
Reading this report, you'll learn all about:
- The advantages of using graphene in batteries
- The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
- Various types of graphene materials
- What's on the market today
The report package also provides:
- A list of all graphene companies involved with batteries
- Detailed specifications of graphene-enhanced anode materials
- Personal contact details into most graphene developers
- Free updates for a year
This Graphene Batteries market report provides a great introduction to graphene materials used in the batteries market, and covers everything you need to know about graphene in this niche. This is a great guide for anyone involved with the battery market, nanomaterials, electric vehicles and mobile devices.
Solidion Technology announces $35 million private placement
Solidion Technology, an advanced battery technology solutions provider, has announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with a new institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 2,333,000 shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents) in a private placement priced above market under Nasdaq rules. The offering is expected to result in gross proceeds of $35 million, before deducting offering expenses.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to support the commercialization of its patented Extreme-Climate Battery technology, fulfill customer demand, expand inventory, advance the building and testing of prototypes, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Global Graphene Group trims Solidion stake in recent share sale
Global Graphene Group has reported another sale of Solidion Technology shares, continuing a series of insider transactions involving the graphene-linked battery materials company. The latest filing shows the company sold 175,000 shares on June 4, 2026.
Following the sale, Global Graphene Group still held 1,569,695 shares of Solidion Technology.
