NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSX-V:NBM) announced that it has signed a letter of intent with an undisclosed, top US university spin-out company of polymer electrolytes to jointly explore opportunities to integrate the developer’s polymer electrolyte technology into NEO’s silicon anode system.
The collaboration will aim to improve the performance by effectively controlling silicon’s volume expansion problem, the company said in a statement.
Additionally, the non-flammable nature of polymer electrolytes can provide increased safety improvements as opposed to conventional liquid electrolytes, preventing the risk of battery fires and explosions, it added.
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NEO said that due to strategic reasons with regard to collaboration and business advancements, the developer will remain unnamed until disclosed.
Both parties acknowledged that “creative, yet fast-paced R&D and collaboration must occur to scale both Parties’ technologies into commercial-level products and outputs,” NEO told shareholders.
Spencer Huh, NEO’s CEO, told investors that the company is “more than welcome” to start a working relationship with the unnamed developer.
“By combining our unique solutions together, the developer’s polymer system may activate an enhanced durability and safety characteristic for NEO’s silicon anode, effectively reducing the mechanical stress from volume expansion,” Huh said in a statement.
“Successful integration and compatibility with the developer’s product can introduce NEO’s silicon anode materials into various applications.”
NEO Battery Materials is a Vancouver-based company focused on electric vehicle lithium-ion battery materials.
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