NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (CVE:NBM) (OTCPINK:NBMFF) has announced that its silicon (Si) nanocoating technology is highly effective in conventional graphite/Si mixture anodes, overcoming a major barrier to the commercialization of Si anodes in graphite anode systems.
The Vancouver-based resource company said testing was conducted and validated by a well-established third-party laboratory in South Korea
NEO is focused on battery metal exploration in North America, focusing on developing silicon anodes through nanocoating an ion-conductive elastomer layer, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries using graphite in its anode materials. The company intends to become an integrated silicon producer and anode materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry.
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More detailed experiment conditions revealed:
- Loading mass: 6.5mg/cm2
- Electrode density: 1.1g/ cm3
- Natural graphite/Si ratio: 9:1
- Charging condition: 0.5C with CC/CV mode (NOT CC mode)
- Voltage: 0.01V ~ 1.5V
NEO said previous 100% Si nanoparticle-based durability test results confirmed that its proprietary nanocoating technology stabilizes the Si material at long-term operating times required for electric vehicles (EV) and various energy storage applications.
The company said the new results further demonstrated the longevity and stability of its Si anode when mixed with a conventional graphite-based anode. Introducing 10% of its nanocoated silicon in a natural graphite anode allowed a more uniform solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) layer formation with minimal volume expansion during cycling. As a result, it said more than two times higher capacity retention is obtained.
"NEO's Si anode innovation breaks through the barriers that have hindered the commercialization of Si anode materials in conventional graphite-based batteries." chief scientific advisor and director Dr Jong Hyeok Park said in a statement.
"Initially, we questioned if the nanocoating layer on Si nanoparticles could be sustainable in conventional graphite powder, but this test provides us a highly positive signal for the commercialization of our patented nanocoating technology in silicon-graphite anodes. This indicates that we may increase the Si contents in graphite systems without serious performance degradation."
NEO said it signed several non-disclosure agreements with some established players in the battery metals and materials industry over the past two weeks pertaining to the advancement of its silicon production and proprietary nanocoating technology for silicon anodes. Due to reasons of confidentiality and the competitive nature of the industry, it could not reveal the identities of the parties.
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