NEO Battery Materials Ltd has issued a corporate update, highlighting its recent attainment of in-house coin full cell production capability, the ongoing sample evaluation and optimization with battery cell manufacturers, and more.
Firstly, NEO announced that it will retain the capability to produce its own coin full cells within the NBM Korea R&D Scale-Up Center. NBM Korea has been procuring equipment and materials to establish in-house production capability over the past two months, and by late September, the company will be able to independently produce coin full cells without the need for external manufacturing facilities.
Additionally, the company said that by integrating cell production within the Scale-Up Center, further time-saving and cost-effective efficiencies can be realized. Crucially, NBMSiDE samples, electrode plates, and coin full cells will all be fabricated in one location.
READ: NEO Battery Materials initiates detailed design of silicon anode commercial plant; files patent for key silicon anode technology
NEO noted that it is continuously undertaking NBMSiDE sample evaluation and product optimization with global battery cell manufacturers under nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).
Because different nanocoating materials, performance requirements and silicon loadings are required, the silicon anode products are being finetuned with specifications requested from each cell manufacturer. That creates lead times between delivery and performance testing, and NEO is progressing through sending optimized products for evaluation.
Most recently, an initial coin cell test was completed with a cell manufacturer not based in Asia that NEO has been engaged with for over 9 months since an NDA was signed. The companies have agreed to advance to pouch cell testing, which is larger in capacity and format, and NEO will provide optimized silicon anode products to the manufacturer.
Trials in progress
As previously announced, NEO is conducting trials to manufacture carbon nanotube-composite NBMSiDE silicon anodes based on its pending patent.
In June, the company signed a collaboration agreement with Applied Carbon Nanotechnology to advance carbon nanotube technologies on silicon particles to improve anode performance and durability. The companies are working on a CNT-inserted NBMSiDE pilot product and plan to conduct cell tests to evaluate electrochemical properties and performance.
Meanwhile, NBM Korea entered into a collaborative agreement with the Yonsei University-Industry Foundation, which will provide greater access to the university’s facilities and equipment in order to analyze and optimize the NBMSiDE materials.
NEO produces silicon anode materials through its proprietary single-step nanocoating process, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries that use graphite in their anode materials. The company intends to become a silicon anode active materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry.
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