EV battery breakthrough edges closer

A PROJECT to develop new battery technology in Australia that promises less weight, faster charging, longer life and better environmental credentials than lithium-ion has yielded significant improvements in energy and power density, opening the door to commercialisation.

Brisbane-based Graphene Manufacturing Group’s graphene aluminium-ion battery (GAIB) technology may change electric vehicle technology as we know it by offering a far superior product compared to lithium-ion.

The breakthrough has potentially far reaching positive effects nationally as well as for GMG itself and according to information released by the company this week, ongoing development from GMG’s battery team has resulted in significant GAIB performance increases as well as cell and graphene production improvements this year.

Calculated energy density of the GAIB technology has increased to 290-310Wh/kg, up 93 per cent since the earlier battery update mid-last year. 

Performance data was calculated from GMG’s specific coin cell design and testing data, which has been separately verified by the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University Of Queensland (UQ) measured against other aluminium ion batteries and two commonly used lithium-ion batteries produced and used worldwide.

Power density has also increased to around 9350W/kg, up 33 per cent since the previous update.

The firm has reported battery cell enhancements which engenders a growing confidence in the repeatability of battery grade quality graphene production at scale – developments that have allowed GMG to start the next steps toward commercialisation.

GMG CEO Craig Nicol said the latest results “show the promise of GMG’s GAIB in terms of performance on top of previously announced longevity and sustainability advantages”.

“The outcome was the result of a large piece of work done by GMG’s battery team to replicate successful batteries, improve almost all of the various components of the battery and the successful transfer of intellectual property from the UQ team.”

GMG’s chair Guy Outen added: “I’m delighted with this battery performance update which reflects both the tremendous creativity and hard work of all involved as well as the possibilities of our GAIBs, even at this early stage in their development.

“This is a significant step in the development of our GAIBs and we look forward to the next steps towards commercialisation.”

The performance improvement reported is a result of increasing two main parameters: a 61 per cent increase in the battery’s specific discharge capacity from 200mAh/gram to 360mAh/g and a 17 per cent increase in the nominal voltage from 1.7V to 2.0V.

GMG now achieves a higher success and pass rate for the cells it makes for development and testing purposes which is a further step towards commercial production. 

The company’s battery team has conducted work across the entire cell design to improve performance, longevity, and ease of manufacture assembly.  

As reported previously by GoAuto, GMG says graphene aluminium-ion batteries offer “three to five times” the energy density of lithium-ion cells and cannot catch fire, offering obvious safety benefits in vehicles both in the event of a collision and where thermal runaway events can cause significant fires.

Graphene aluminium-ion batteries are also not lethal if swallowed, are completely recyclable and require no cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, or other rare earth metals to be mined for their production.

The company is chasing a global market estimated to be valued at $50 billion by the middle of this century and has attracted plenty of interest globally and not solely from the automotive sector as the technology can be purposed for a variety of applications from coin-cell batteries for key fobs through to the utility-scale battery packs used to power electric vehicles.

Mr Nichol said: “I think there are a lot of opportunities for this technology in automotive applications, especially given how well it performs in fast-charging and regenerative braking conditions.

“There is a massive need for batteries ahead of us, especially over the next 10 to 15 years, and while it may take us a while to reach scale, we are working on getting our battery technology into the market as fast as we can.”

GMG’s proprietary manufacturing process forms graphene powder directly from natural gas, bringing with it obvious environmental benefits.

The powder is then compressed into pellet form and implanted with microscopic aluminium ions using nanotechnology developed in part with the University of Queensland.

Mr Nichol said the process is more cost effective and environmentally friendlier than the traditional method of forming graphene from graphite, which makes the long-term scalability of the technology comparable to that currently utilised in the production of lithium-ion cells.

The manufacturing process of GAIB produces hydrogen as a byproduct, offering further uses within the transportation industry to power fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

“With our technology, we simply have graphene and aluminium, and at the end of the battery’s life, the aluminium is recycled, and the graphene reused. Our expectation is that we will be making the process almost entirely emissions-free or very close to it because we’ll be making hydrogen as a by-product as well,” said Mr Nichol.

GMG has already signed an informal partnership with global mining giant Rio Tinto around integrating some of its energy-saving technologies into its operations as well as the supply of aluminium for GMG’s commercial battery operations.