NanoGraf

NanoGraf, an advanced battery material company, announced earlier this month the successful completion of the first large volume production run of its M38 18650 cell for the U.S. military.

Nanograf, formerly called SiNode Systems, pursues advances in Lithium-ion battery anodes for a wide range of industries from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. NanoGraf explaines that it uses a proprietary silicon alloy-graphene material architecture to overcome the silicon anode technical hurdles. The combination of silicon-based alloys and a flexible 3D graphene network helps stabilize the active material during charge and discharge. The company’s manufacturing process is different from others that rely on expensive and complex vapor deposition-based systems. Instead, a wet chemistry process has been developed that is highly scalable and already proven in a multi-ton-scale pilot manufacturing line in Japan. The anode material drops into existing electrode mixing and coating equipment and has been validated in large-scale battery manufacturing facilities.

NanoGraf has announced that it won a $1 million development contract from the Department of Defense to produce a more powerful, longer-lasting 4.3Ah lithium-ion battery. The cell will aim to provide U.S. military personnel with enhanced run-time for the equipment they rely on to operate safely and efficiently.

This is the second Department of Defense project won by NanoGraf. In 2021, the company developed the world’s longest-running 3.8Ah 18650 cylindrical lithium-ion cell, at 800 watt-hours per liter (Wh/L). This cell will is meant to go into volume production in the Spring of 2022.

The potential for improved performance and life cycle, fast charging and enhanced safety have proven to be enough of an incentive to inspire active study into graphene-based batteries, with many researchers and companies working globally to develop this energy Holy Grail.

Graphene-enhanced batteries seem to be one of those technologies that holds great promise and appeal, but always remains somewhat unattainable. Some batteries have been commercialized in which graphene was used to perform secondary functions - such as to enhance the casing flexibility or the heat dissipation abilities. These batteries have been launched in some markets - but this is not the breakthrough everybody is waiting for. Some claims have been made regarding actual graphene batteries. Some of these have been found to be outright scams while others have yet to form an actual presence on the market. It is also important to know that not all graphene-enhanced batteries actually use graphene - some use graphene derivatives or multi-layer graphene which is actual graphite.

In spite of all the above, advances are being made and milestones achieved, with some initial products entering the market and great amounts of funds invested into R&D. It is still our view that graphene holds great promise for the batteries of the future.

NanoGraf, an advanced battery material company, has announced that it has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a longer-lasting lithium-ion battery, designed to provide U.S. military personnel with better portable power for the equipment they rely on to operate safely and effectively. Nanograf's graphene-wrapped silicon anode cells are hoped to significantly improve equipment runtime in the field.

The Department of Defense will provide NanoGraf with $1.65 million to develop silicon anode-based lithium-ion technology in a format compatible with all portable batteries, with a goal of enabling a 50-100 percent increase in runtime when compared to traditional graphite anode lithium-ion cells.

NanoGraf Technologies is a U.S-based battery material startup formerly known as SiNode Systems, established in 2012 to commercialize a novel graphene-enhanced silicon-based anode tech for lithium-ion batteries originally conceived at Northwestern University.

In light of the rising interest in graphene-enhanced batteries, and Nanograf's advances in this field, Graphene-Info was glad to exchange a few words with Dr. Francis Wang, Nanograf's CEO, to get a better image of the company's tech and future plans. Dr. Wang has accumulated over 20 years of experience in technology innovation and commercialization in the energy storage and clean energy spaces. Prior to NanoGraf Technologies, Wang was a founder and Director of Energy Storage Center at the National Institute of Clean Energy in Beijing, China. He has held positions in some of the world's largest battery, consumer products and energy companies, including Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Gillette, Boston Scientific and the Shenhua Group.

SiNode Systems, a U.S-based developer of silicon-graphene materials for lithium-ion batteries, and JNC Corporation, a Tokyo-based specialty chemical manufacturer, have formed NanoGraf Corporation—a joint venture focused on commercializing advanced materials for the Lithium-ion battery industry—with a $4.5-million investment. SiNode will be renamed NanoGraf.

NanoGraf’s technology aims to enhance the performance of battery materials using a proprietary graphene-wrapped silicon anode, originally invented at Northwestern University. The unique combination of silicon-based alloys and a flexible 3D graphene network reportedly helps stabilize the active material during charge and discharge. NanoGraf materials states that it enhances battery energy and power density by up to 50% and offers best-in-class cycle life.