VoltaXplore, a joint venture formed by graphene producer NanoXplore and partner Martinrea International to develop electric vehicle (EV) batteries enhanced with graphene, will take part in Canada's Project Arrow.

Image credit: Cleantechnica and Project Arrow

Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association has decided to build an electric SUV almost entirely from Canadian sources, including the battery, in the new Project Arrow.

Alpine 4 Holdings has announced that it has acquired ElecJet/Real Graphene, entering the field of lithium and graphene battery manufacturing and design.

The Companies are also exploring plans with the State of Indiana to convert its South Bend, Indiana facility into a US battery production facility and bring graphene battery production to the United States.

NanoMalaysia (NMB), a company under the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) set up to promote nanotechnology commercialization activities, has an ongoing collaboration with and UMORIE Graphene Technologies (UGT) that has recently yielded a working prototype of Malaysia's first graphene-based pouch cell battery to be used in electric vehicles (EV).

This full-cell lithium-ion battery enhanced with graphene will reportedly be a more efficient storage platform for clean and renewable energy source that will aim to revolutionize the EV industry. The battery's intellectual property (IP) is jointly developed by NMB, UGT and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

California-based company Lyten has developed a graphene-enhanced lithium-sulfur battery for electric vehicles. The battery reportedly achieved a higher gravimetric energy density than traditional lithium-ion and solid-state technologies. Lyten is said to have has previous collaborations with the US government for military projects.

The product was named LytCell EV and was designed to deliver three times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries. The company reported 900 Wh/kg, precisely three times as much as the batteries in circulation today. Lyten Sulfur Caging is the name of the technology used in LytCell batteries to unlock the performance potential of sulfur by halting the advance of polysulfide, a cycle-life compromising factor that has so far prevented the practical use of Li-S in electric vehicles battery powered. Based on testing, a LytCell prototype reportedly proved to withstand more than 1,400 cycles very well.

At a recent conference, Ford Motor presented its innovative graphene-enhanced polyurethane (PU) foam that reduces noise in automobiles while also lowering their weight. The material was chosen as a finalist for the Polyurethane Innovation Award, given by the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) during the conference. The foam is said to be used in all of Ford's North American vehicles.

One of the biggest challenges in developing the foam was dispersing a nanomaterial like graphene into a viscous polymer and keeping it from collapsing during mixing, said Alper Kiziltas, technical expert, sustainability and emerging materials at Ford.

Germany-based Skeleton Technologies has been on the forefront of graphene-based supercapacitors development for many years, and the company recently made some major announcements, including a large (>€70 million) financing round, the super-battery project and several strategic customers and projects - including ones with Medcom, Skoda, CAF, Wrightbus and Marubeni.

We recently talked with Skeleton's VP of automotive products, Sebastian Pohlmann, who updated us on the company's business and technology.

Electric two-wheeler brand Yadea recently unveiled a number of products and innovations at its New Tech Launching Event, held in Wuxi, China. Among the achievements on display were Yadea’s Graphene 3.0 Battery, which the Company aims to to use to advance its electric two-wheeler technology.

Yadea’s Graphene 3.0 Battery reportedly boasts ultra-low temperature resistance, improved battery capacity and a high level of durability. The Company explained that it has added antifreeze electrolyte into the battery, which can dynamically adapt to different environmental conditions, adjust the battery temperature, and ensure that electric vehicle mileage doesn’t decline in winter. At the same time, the battery is said to be resistant to extreme temperatures and can handle ranges from -20°C to 55°C.

Iceni Labs, a spin-out from Imperial College London, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore’s 2D Materials (2DM) that will see the companies combine their respective expertise to develop and market graphene-based products for the defense, automotive and aerospace markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Iceni Labs, a spin-out from Imperial College London, aims to exploit the properties of graphene for devices aimed at the defense market. 2DM manufactures graphene as an additive to enhance the properties of many industrial materials. The MoU will explore the potential to use 2DM’s graphene as an industrial additive to enhance the properties of Iceni Labs-developed industrial products including microphones, weapons optics devices and coatings.

Haydale has announced that is has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Viritech, a UK-based company that is developing technologies to deliver advanced hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive, aerospace, marine and distributed power industries.

Haydale will provide Viritech with consulting engineering support services, including pressure vessel design, structural analysis, and material science analysis.

Australia-based battery case developer Vaulta has been awarded a Federal Government grant to commercialize its battery casings for the electric vehicle market.

Vaulta received a grant of AUD$297,500 (around USD$219,000) from the Federal Government’s Accelerating Commercialization grants program to commercialize its low-cost and light-weight graphene-enhanced battery modules.