NASA's project SABERS is testing a graphene battery that could be a game changer for aviation and EVs

NASA's SABERS (Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety) project, which has been going on for a few years under NASA’s “high risk, high reward” research program, aims to develop batteries with improved power density (preferably ones that could make electric flight feasible, which required around 480 watt-hour per kilogram).

Work taking place at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, by an engineering team lead by Dr. Rocco Viggiano, is aiming to produce batteries that are powerful, light, fast to charge, scalable to any application, and extremely safe. The scientists are doing so by getting rid of the toxic and dangerous materials that make current batteries too inefficient and risky to put in a plane, for example. 

Read the full story Posted: Dec 13,2022

Zentek announces new project for graphene-enhanced battery components for the automotive industry

Zentek recently announced the start of a 4-year, CAD$1,600,000 (around USD$1,172,000) research project in collaboration with Professors Mohini Sain and Ning Yan from the University of Toronto (“U of T”) and Ford Powertrain Engineering Research and Development Centre (“PERDC”).

Funding for the project includes CAD$1.2 million (around USD$879,000) from the Mitacs Accelerate program. Prof. Sain is the Endowed Ford Motor Canada Chair in Sustainable Materials where he is active in the field of light energy storage including cell chemistry and renewable fuel battery development at PERDC, and Prof. Yan is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Bioproducts. Collaborating with the PERDC and testing at this facility is essential to demonstrate battery advances at a scale suitable for the automotive industry. 

Read the full story Posted: Oct 31,2022

Skeleton Technologies launches its SuperBattery and unveils Shell as partner

Skeleton Technologies has officially launched its SuperBattery, and unveiled Shell as its partner. Skeleton is joining a Shell-led consortium to offer electrification solutions for mining sites.

SuperBattery is an innovative technology combining the characteristics of supercapacitors and batteries. SuperBattery has been developed to serve the needs of several sectors and is currently being used and/or tested in hybrid and fuel cell EVs, buses, trucks, and charging infrastructure.

Read the full story Posted: Oct 13,2022

Martinrea wins automotive industry award for graphene-enhanced brake lines

Martinrea International, a global automotive supplier of value-added lightweight structures and propulsion systems (that has a collaboration with NanoXplore), was named a 2022 Automotive News PACE Award winner at the awards ceremony on September 19. 

Martinrea was recognized for its brake lines with GrapheneGuard, which is said to be the first use of graphene in an automotive brake line application. Martinrea recognized the potential of graphene and developed the revolutionary GrapheneGuard coating technology which incorporates graphene into nylon. The development of GrapheneGuard is a convergence of material science innovation and process engineering that brings to the automotive market a brake line coating that reportedly has unmatched properties. The material can provide up to 25 percent weight savings while simultaneously demonstrating superior strength, greater abrasion protection, and improved chemical resistance, all while utilizing current manufacturing equipment and processes.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 21,2022

Applied Graphene Materials signs deal with undisclosed 'global leader in the car detailing industry'

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) has signed a supply agreement with a global leader in the car detailing industry for an exclusively developed graphene-based solution. The partnership with an undisclosed 'global household name brand' is said to represent a significant milestone for AGM in the car care sector, where it has already announced multiple product launches with smaller participants.

AGM said its new partner is driving innovation in the market and now leads the way in the supply of high-performance auto detailing and finishing products. The addition of AGM's Genable graphene nanoplatelet dispersion technology into car care systems has the potential to significantly improve the barrier performance of waxes, polishes and finishing sprays for vehicles, the company added.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 15,2022

Anaphite raises over US$4.8 Million to further its graphene-enhanced batteries tech

UK-based startup Anaphite has announced the closing of a £4.1-million (around US$4.8 million) seed round, led by Elbow Beach Capital with a £1.5-million (US$1.8 million) investment and supported by Wealth Club, Blue Wire Capital, Oxford Investment Opportunity Network, Zero Carbon Capital, Silicon Roundabout Ventures and Deeptech Labs.

Anaphite incorporates graphene into battery materials, via an inexpensive and scalable process that fits directly into existing cell production lines. Anaphite mainly focuses on the enhancement of lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry, for which it aims to reduce battery manufacturing costs by over 10%. The company’s technology is also said to improve battery capacity and charge rates, potentially reducing charging time by 50%.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 27,2022

Appear Inc. launches new graphene battery packs

Appear Inc. has announced the launch of its high-performance, fast-charge, longer-lasting battery packs for electric vehicles. Appear's graphene battery packs can be fully charged in less than 60 minutes. Appear's latest battery cells offer higher capacity, increased safety and an industry-leading 3C fast charge capability.

Appear Graphene Li-Ion batteries are reportedly safer, offer fast charge (up to 3C) and have a longer cycle life (1000 cycles) than traditional Li-Ion batteries. The distinctive batteries also have higher discharge capacity (up to 15C), which enables bikes to have rapid acceleration, steep climb/higher torque and race mode in sport bikes.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 21,2022

Skeleton Technologies announces new supercapacitor plant near Leipzig

Estonia-based Skeleton Technologies has announced that it is building Europe’s largest supercapacitor production facility in Saxony with the support of Siemens. Skeleton Technologies is investing 220 million euros in the new production facility in Markranstädt, near Leipzig in Saxony.

According to the company, 100 million euros will be invested in production and 120 million euros in development and research as well as in a future ramp-up of production. In the future, 12 million supercapacitors are to be manufactured annually in Markranstädt. The start of production is planned for 2024.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 20,2022

Graphmatech, Graphenea, and Northvolt produce graphene oxide from recycled EV batteries

Graphmatech, Graphenea, and Northvolt have announced their success in up-cycling end-of-life EV batteries into graphene oxide at industrial pilot scale. This breakthrough uses the material left after Northvolt has extracted valuable metals and minerals. Until now, that remaining material was left as waste.

Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer of Northvolt, comments: The upcycling of graphene oxide from recycled batteries represents a great development in our pursuit of a sustainable battery industry in Europe. Batteries contain an abundance of valuable materials which we can recover to reduce our dependence on mining and producing fresh materials. We are proud to have contributed to this development.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 07,2022

Graphmatech and Wematter partner to develop graphene-enhanced materials for SLS 3D printing

Swedish graphene-solutions provider Graphmatech has partnered with 3D printer manufacturer Wematter to enhance polymer powders with graphene, to make them electrically- and thermally conductive, improve processibility, and more.

Together, the two startups will develop an electrically conductive powder, tailored for Gravity the SLS 3D printer by Wematter. The high-performance powder will enable Telecommunications, Aerospace and Automotive manufacturers to print parts with improved or maintained mechanical properties whilst achieving electrostatic dissipative (ESD), shielding, or even lower resistivity, performance.

Read the full story Posted: Jun 30,2022