A brief overview of startups in the development of batteries
While oil is running out, new electric motors are being developed, processors are “picking up cores”, matrices are “picking up pixels”, and information storage devices are terabytes, the development of batteries takes place behind the scenes.
We will highlight some of the rare next-generation start-ups that use nanotechnology, new printing technologies, powerful computing and other innovations to produce the batteries of the future.
Ambri is one of the most famous battery startups. Previously called Liquid Battery Metal. The company was founded by Professor Don Sadoway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is perhaps the only startup founder who has ever been interviewed by The Colbert Report. His project received an investment from Bill Gates, Vinod Khosl, and the general oil giant. Ambri develops batteries using molten salts between two layers of liquid metal. Batteries are a modular system, the cells of which are located in a 40-foot container with a capacity of 500 kW and 2 MW capacity. For more energy, more systems can be deployed together side by side. The expected date of appearance on the market is the 2nd quarter of 2014.
The use of zinc, instead of lithium and screen printing technology, has allowed Imprint Energy to develop an ultra-thin, capacious and flexible battery at a low production cost.
Thanks to the subtlety and flexibility of its batteries, Imprint Energy hopes to sell portable device manufacturers to companies. Imprint Energy is already making small volumes of supply of its batteries for its first customers and plans to increase the scale of production over several years.
The six-month start-up Alveo energy is looking to develop and commercialize batteries made from water, Berlin azure — which is used to paint things like blue jeans, colored pencils and paints — iron and copper. Alveo energy batteries have a low cost and long service life. Battery research was conducted by Stanford University student Colin Wessels, and Stanford professor Robert Huggins. The company was able to receive a grant of $ 4 million from the Department of Energy for an early phase program called ARPA-E.
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Pellion went the way of finding the ideal chemical composition for a battery: the researchers created advanced algorithms and computer models that allowed them to test about 10,000 potential cathode materials in accordance with the magnesium anode for their batteries. Co-founder of Pellion, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gerbrand Ceder, also participated in the development of design materials for the genome at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose program is based on the use of computer modeling and virtual modeling. Run with the support of the ARPA-E program, as well as Khosla Ventures.
QuantumScape is a young startup from the Silicon Valley. A technology commercialization company from Stanford University. This new battery uses the energy of moving electrons, not ions.
Application in electric vehicles and systems of autonomous power supply.
In February 2012, the American company Envia Systems announced a sharp, up to 400 watt-hours per kilogram, increase in the energy capacity of batteries, which allows an electric vehicle to travel an average of about 300 miles. The cost of the battery is from $ 25,000 to $ 30,000. The company relies on General Motors, the Japanese giant Asahi Kasei, Pangea Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and the ARPA-E program of the Ministry of Energy.
Sila Nanotechnologies was founded in 2011. The company is developing a lightweight, compact lithium-ion battery that has the dual capacity of a current lithium-ion battery. The company received a $ 1.73 million grant from the Department of Energy. Application in electric vehicles and portable devices.
Boulder Ionics works on electrolyte from ionic liquids that can function at high temperatures and voltages at lower cost.
Prieto Battery is the brainchild of chemistry professor Amy Prieto of Colorado. Prieto Battery develops lithium-ion batteries that can be charged for five minutes, the discharge time is five times longer than standard lithium-ion batteries. The company uses nanotechnology to develop tiny copper nanowires that make up the anode of a battery, and the electrolyte is made of solid polymer.
Sakti3 is a startup from Michigan that develops a lithium-ion battery that is in a completely solid state and has a high energy density. The use of solid polymers means that it will not have a flammable liquid and can be much safer for electric cars. The company is sponsored by Khosla Ventures, GM Ventures and Itochu.
Xilectric batteries are designed according to the “Edison Battery” principle, which is traditionally made of iron and nickel. But Xilectric its batteries of aluminum and magnesium. The battery from Xilectric is able to charge and discharge almost 1000 times more efficiently.
The “super-fast” battery prototype is capable of charging in 2 minutes and discharging within 30 seconds. While the numbers seem to be quite small, but, as often happens, large things have small beginnings.
The battery capacity is still too small to serve as an autonomous source of energy. However, even now such batteries can “help” lithium-ion batteries, giving them a real increase in power for fast acceleration and deceleration.
Superfast batteries made from cheap and safe materials can be attractive for electrochemical energy storage. If a high power density is achieved, such batteries will be useful for ensuring the operation of, for example, electric vehicles that require rapid acceleration and intense braking. Ultrafast nickel-iron batteries have a specific energy of 120 Wh kg – 1 and a specific power of 15 kW kg – 1. These capabilities allow you to create a new generation of iron-nickel batteries. The company received a grant of $ 1.73 million from the Ministry of Energy.
Based on research on Yi Cui from Stanford, Amprius runs on lithium-ion batteries that use nanostructured silicon for the anode. Nanostructured silicon can reduce the anode by four times and achieve a fourfold increase in capacity. The company has already received $ 25 million from Trident Capital, VantagePoint Venture Partners, IPV Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Eric Schmidt.
Summarizing, we can say that the development of batteries does not stand still. Cheaper, smaller in size, environmentally friendly and lighter elements are being developed. Time will tell.
PS I hope my post will encourage someone to write a more detailed analysis with numbers and graphs. And I apologize for the errors associated with holes in the knowledge of the English language.
A source
We will highlight some of the rare next-generation start-ups that use nanotechnology, new printing technologies, powerful computing and other innovations to produce the batteries of the future.
1) Ambri
Ambri is one of the most famous battery startups. Previously called Liquid Battery Metal. The company was founded by Professor Don Sadoway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is perhaps the only startup founder who has ever been interviewed by The Colbert Report. His project received an investment from Bill Gates, Vinod Khosl, and the general oil giant. Ambri develops batteries using molten salts between two layers of liquid metal. Batteries are a modular system, the cells of which are located in a 40-foot container with a capacity of 500 kW and 2 MW capacity. For more energy, more systems can be deployed together side by side. The expected date of appearance on the market is the 2nd quarter of 2014.
2) Imprint Energy
The use of zinc, instead of lithium and screen printing technology, has allowed Imprint Energy to develop an ultra-thin, capacious and flexible battery at a low production cost.
Thanks to the subtlety and flexibility of its batteries, Imprint Energy hopes to sell portable device manufacturers to companies. Imprint Energy is already making small volumes of supply of its batteries for its first customers and plans to increase the scale of production over several years.
3) Alveo energy
The six-month start-up Alveo energy is looking to develop and commercialize batteries made from water, Berlin azure — which is used to paint things like blue jeans, colored pencils and paints — iron and copper. Alveo energy batteries have a low cost and long service life. Battery research was conducted by Stanford University student Colin Wessels, and Stanford professor Robert Huggins. The company was able to receive a grant of $ 4 million from the Department of Energy for an early phase program called ARPA-E.
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4) Pellion
Pellion went the way of finding the ideal chemical composition for a battery: the researchers created advanced algorithms and computer models that allowed them to test about 10,000 potential cathode materials in accordance with the magnesium anode for their batteries. Co-founder of Pellion, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gerbrand Ceder, also participated in the development of design materials for the genome at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose program is based on the use of computer modeling and virtual modeling. Run with the support of the ARPA-E program, as well as Khosla Ventures.
5) QuantumScape
QuantumScape is a young startup from the Silicon Valley. A technology commercialization company from Stanford University. This new battery uses the energy of moving electrons, not ions.
Application in electric vehicles and systems of autonomous power supply.
6) Envia Systems
In February 2012, the American company Envia Systems announced a sharp, up to 400 watt-hours per kilogram, increase in the energy capacity of batteries, which allows an electric vehicle to travel an average of about 300 miles. The cost of the battery is from $ 25,000 to $ 30,000. The company relies on General Motors, the Japanese giant Asahi Kasei, Pangea Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and the ARPA-E program of the Ministry of Energy.
7) Sila Nanotechnologies
Sila Nanotechnologies was founded in 2011. The company is developing a lightweight, compact lithium-ion battery that has the dual capacity of a current lithium-ion battery. The company received a $ 1.73 million grant from the Department of Energy. Application in electric vehicles and portable devices.
8) Boulder Ionics
Boulder Ionics works on electrolyte from ionic liquids that can function at high temperatures and voltages at lower cost.
9) Prieto Battery
Prieto Battery is the brainchild of chemistry professor Amy Prieto of Colorado. Prieto Battery develops lithium-ion batteries that can be charged for five minutes, the discharge time is five times longer than standard lithium-ion batteries. The company uses nanotechnology to develop tiny copper nanowires that make up the anode of a battery, and the electrolyte is made of solid polymer.
10) Sakti3
Sakti3 is a startup from Michigan that develops a lithium-ion battery that is in a completely solid state and has a high energy density. The use of solid polymers means that it will not have a flammable liquid and can be much safer for electric cars. The company is sponsored by Khosla Ventures, GM Ventures and Itochu.
11) Xilectric
Xilectric batteries are designed according to the “Edison Battery” principle, which is traditionally made of iron and nickel. But Xilectric its batteries of aluminum and magnesium. The battery from Xilectric is able to charge and discharge almost 1000 times more efficiently.
The “super-fast” battery prototype is capable of charging in 2 minutes and discharging within 30 seconds. While the numbers seem to be quite small, but, as often happens, large things have small beginnings.
The battery capacity is still too small to serve as an autonomous source of energy. However, even now such batteries can “help” lithium-ion batteries, giving them a real increase in power for fast acceleration and deceleration.
Superfast batteries made from cheap and safe materials can be attractive for electrochemical energy storage. If a high power density is achieved, such batteries will be useful for ensuring the operation of, for example, electric vehicles that require rapid acceleration and intense braking. Ultrafast nickel-iron batteries have a specific energy of 120 Wh kg – 1 and a specific power of 15 kW kg – 1. These capabilities allow you to create a new generation of iron-nickel batteries. The company received a grant of $ 1.73 million from the Ministry of Energy.
12) amprius
Based on research on Yi Cui from Stanford, Amprius runs on lithium-ion batteries that use nanostructured silicon for the anode. Nanostructured silicon can reduce the anode by four times and achieve a fourfold increase in capacity. The company has already received $ 25 million from Trident Capital, VantagePoint Venture Partners, IPV Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Eric Schmidt.
Summarizing, we can say that the development of batteries does not stand still. Cheaper, smaller in size, environmentally friendly and lighter elements are being developed. Time will tell.
PS I hope my post will encourage someone to write a more detailed analysis with numbers and graphs. And I apologize for the errors associated with holes in the knowledge of the English language.
A source
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/166011/
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