An advanced type of carbon nanomaterial – a two-dimension solitary sheet of carbon atoms packed in an hexagon lattice – graphene is one of earth’s strongest materials that has unique properties based on electronic, electrochemical, photonic, magnetic and thermal factors due to variations in atomic arrangement. It is capable of enhancing the performance, functionality as well as durability of many applications.
Because of its high electric and thermal conductivity, graphene is highly sought by a variety of industries, from aerospace to energy storage manufacturing. Additionally, its exceptional mechanical and wear properties rendered it suitable for a broad range of other sectors, from building and construction to shoes and apparel, just to name a few.
Ainira Industries is developing a range of graphene based Energy Storage Systems, ESS, which encompass batteries, supercapacitors and ultracapacitors. Beside several significant achievements on the battery technology, we are also investigating efficient, robust and cost effective, scalable ways of producing graphene on an industrial scale.
Our laboratory-proven process allows graphene to be designed into any shape with a very high resolution. The new technique is compatible with a desktop SLA printer and achieves an order-of-magnitude finer resolution, and far more intricate structures than any previous method.
It takes a few days to make the material for an ESS pouch cell, but the actual printing (see SEM photo below) is finished within two hours. The material conforms to specific mechanical and electrochemical design, such as flexibility, electrical conductivity of 3D architectures, and electromagnetic wave shielding, as well as environmental requirements.
Business wise, we are focused on technology and process optimisation and their transfer to industrial scale production, and market development. On the technology side, the main efforts are on the ESS reliability and durability, on the reduction of battery weight and volume, increasing their volumetric and gravimetric energy density, and storage capacity, increase the supercapacitor coulombic capacitance, on improving their safety, and reducing cost at below US$100/kWh.
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