General Motors Co. and OneD Battery Sciences have introduced a brand new joint analysis & growth settlement to make use of OneD’s silicon nanotechnology in GM’s Ultium battery cells.
The plan is to make use of silicon anodes in a graphite base to allow important will increase in power density, leading to lighter-weight batteries with longer vary and decrease prices.
“GM designed Ultium to be a supremely flexible platform so we can continuously improve our cells as battery technology advances,” mentioned Kent Helfrich, GM chief expertise officer, vice chairman of GM analysis and growth, and president of GM Ventures. “Our collaboration with OneD will focus on efforts to continue advancements in EV range, performance and cost.”
The collaboration is centered on OneD’s Sinanode platform, which integrates extra silicon into the anode battery cells by fusing silicon nanowires into EV-grade graphite. Silicon holds 10 instances extra power than graphite, and it’s a available low-cost materials.
“From day one, OneD has aimed to simplify silicon as the means to a completely new era of EVs,” mentioned Vincent Pluvinage, CEO, OneD Battery Sciences. “We believe that the winners of the EV race will be those who can effectively add more silicon to the battery cell, in a way that doesn’t disrupt existing supply chains and processes. We’re thrilled to collaborate with General Motors on our shared goal of accelerating mass EV adoption.”
GM makes an funding
GM Ventures and Volta Energy Technologies additionally participated in OneD’s Series C funding spherical, which the corporate not too long ago closed at $25 million.
With their license-based enterprise mannequin and low operational prices, OneD plans to make use of the funds to proceed analysis and growth, whereas on the similar time advancing pilot manufacturing and offering automotive OEMs and battery producers a seamless integration into the manufacturing of EV batteries.
At the identical time, GM is constructing on greater than a decade of superior battery analysis and growth with its new Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan. The R&D facility was accomplished earlier this 12 months to assist considerably ramp up growth and manufacturing of next-generation Ultium batteries. The web site works on battery supplies in addition to manufacturing strategies that may be deployed at battery cell manufacturing crops.
Silicon has been broadly researched as a battery medium
OneD Battery Sciences has been engaged on battery tech for 15 years, and the corporate holds a portfolio of greater than 240 granted patents. OneD is now licensing its expertise to industrial companions as a way to scale up manufacturing quicker and at a decrease value than could be potential independently.
Additional analysis into silicon as a battery medium has been within the works for years at firms like XNRGI, situated in Bothell, Washington close to Seattle. XNRGI growth is targeted on utilizing typical silicon wafers from the pc trade as a substrate for battery our bodies.
Lithium-ion batteries at the moment in use depend upon a graphite slurry on a two-dimensional conductor as a constructing materials.
OneD is targeted on including silicon nanowires whereas the XNRGI battery makes use of a three-dimensional porous silicon wafer coated in lithium metallic. Like OneD, XNRGI holds a number of patents for its designs.
Silicon is just not a panacea, however holds promise
If making a silicon battery was that good and that simple, everybody would do it. However, there are particular challenges. Silicon tends to swell through the charging cycle, and degrades extra quickly than different supplies, and people tendencies should be ameliorated earlier than a manufacturing battery could be developed.
Additional analysis is happening world wide, as firms race to develop the expertise right into a dependable product. Automakers corresponding to GM and Mercedes-Benz are investing in silicon battery tech, in addition to authorities entities such because the US Departments of Energy and Defense.
Source: www.thedetroitbureau.com