In-Future-Carbon-Nanotube

NAWA Technologies, a French energy storage company, has introduced a novel carbon nanotube-based battery electrode design that they claim is the quickest of its type, bringing enormous advances in battery performance.

The design and material utilized for the electrode are currently one of the most significant obstacles and restrictions of battery power. Current electrodes have poor electrical, thermal, and ionic conductivity, as well as unsatisfactory mechanical behavior when charging cycles, are performed. Degradation difficulties, such as dendrite growth in lithium-ion batteries, can cause safety and lifetime issues.

Now, a French firm claims to have invented an “ultra-fast electrode” that boosts power by a factor of ten, increases energy storage by a factor of three, and increases lifespan by a factor of five, all while decreasing charge time to just a few minutes.

 NAWA’s newest electrode combines ionic conductivity with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity and is based on its proprietary Vertically-Aligned Carbon Nanotube (VACNT) IP. This is made possible by its 3D completely accessible nanostructure and arrangement of 100 billion vertically aligned nanotubes per square cm. With electrodes accounting for about 25% of total battery costs and the current lithium-ion battery industry valued at $35 billion, NAWA thinks that their novel Ultra-Fast Carbon Electrode might result in considerable cost reductions.

According to NAWA, the electrode is a universal system that’s available as both a primer for existing electrodes, where the VACNT improves electrical conductivity as well as a full 3D-electrode on which lithium insertion material can be coated. Currently, NAWA is working on many coating ideas with various chemistries and collaborators. By 2023, the company plans to have commercialized the technology.

It also has a positive impact on the environment, at the end of its lifespan; the Ultra-Fast Carbon Electrode is readily recyclable and eco-disposable, with potential CO2 footprint savings of up to 60% in applications.

While the Ultra-Fast Carbon Electrode can help all batteries, NAWA predicts that the automobile sector will benefit the most. NAWA sees the sector as a significant target market since it already accounts for 75% of lithium-ion battery output and is continually seeking ever-improved parameters like capacity, lifetime, and charging time. According to NAWA, an upgraded lithium-ion battery with an Ultra-Fast Carbon Electrode might quadruple the amount of energy stored, allowing Electric Vehicles (EVs) to go longer and quicker, with ranges of 1,000 kilometers or more becoming commonplace in the general market. Charging time may be decreased to as short as five minutes for an 80 percent charge, with a five-fold increase in lifetime.

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