Vaulta secures Federal government grant

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.

Vaulta founder and director Dominic Spooner said: This funding from the Federal Government recognizes the opportunities opened up by our world-first design... It allows electric vehicle manufacturers to save money, time, weight and space in their vehicles, while greatly increasing efficiencies in safety and workforce deployment.

Spooner has set out to develop a novel battery casing design using a blend of graphene and polymer. These ingredients, along with other composites, are said to allow for significant improvements in weight, strength, and thermal and electrical conductivity.

An additional benefit is the reduction in the number of parts and their size which reduces the cost to market and ensures greater reuse and recycling of parts.

Vaulta recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the global manufacturer of lithium batteries used in the fastest cars in the world, including NASCAR, IndyCar, and Aussie V8 Supercars. Vaulta together with Canadian companies Braille Energy Systems, Focus Graphite and Grafoid, is focused on battery energy solutions and they are working to conduct market analysis to identify new sectors of interest and co-developed projects.

It also has an MOU with Quickstep, An independent aerospace advanced composites manufacturer, to develop smarter technology for renewables, manned and unmanned drones and electric flight.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said the funding will enable supported projects to commercialize their products and attract further investment to enter new local and global markets.

He said projects in the current round of Accelerating Commercialization grants are exactly the kind of job-creating innovations we want to see and support, especially in the COVID-19 recovery.

This project is supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the Entrepreneurs’ Programme.

Posted: Jul 22,2021 by Roni Peleg