https://www.techspot.com/news/81029-startup-aims-bring-porous-silicon-battery-evs-grid.html
[links, image and video in online article]
Startup aims to bring its porous silicon battery to EVs and grid storage
The dream battery we've been waiting for?
By Adrian Potoroaca on July 20, 2019
Something to look forward to: As we wait for for better batteries, the
many wonder technologies we've been promised for the last decade have
failed to materialize to market for various reasons. This may not be the
case of XNRGI, a startup that is ready to ship a "porous" silicon
battery that has better energy density and lower manufacturing costs
than traditional lithium-ion batteries, and is also safer to use.
One of the reasons why electric cars aren't more ubiquitous and why our
battery-powered devices don't last as much as we'd expect on a charge is
that advancements in the field of energy storage haven't kept up with
the rest of the innovation happening in the tech industry. While new
battery technologies seem to pop up every few months with the same
promise of higher energy density and durability, faster charging, and
lower cost, none of these have made an appearance in commercial
applications yet.
Recently a Washington-based startup that has been keeping a low profile
for years has unveiled plans to take their patented battery technology
to market in 2020, with a project to build grid-scale batteries for the
North-American power market. The company says its patented technology
has been in the works for 15 years, and is an essential part of the
"North American Solution to Climate Change," with four times the energy
density of lithium-ion batteries at half the cost.
A key person in this development is Christine Hallquist, head of Cross
Border Power, who also had a failed gubernatorial run in Vermont last
year -- two experiences that taught her about the challenges of
transitioning to renewable energy without grid-scale storage in place.
The Republican Governors Association was able to quickly shoot down her
campaign with claims that her project would hike gas prices and local taxes.
What the RPA didn't know is that a group of Canadian venture capitalists
had been following Hallquist's campaign and saw it as the perfect
opportunity for XNRGI, who silently developed a "porous" silicon battery
that is apparently ready to ship at scale.
XNRGI makes its batteries using silicon wafers that are similar to those
used by semiconductor companies to produce their chips. After etching a
very dense, 20 by 20 micron honeycomb pattern into those wafers, they
coat them with lithium and other metals to form the anodes and cathodes
of so-called "micro-batteries".
While the idea of using silicon to improve energy density isn't new, the
biggest roadblock has been that silicon expands when the battery is
charging, which leads to deterioration and so-called "dendrites" that
grow over time and have the ability to short out the electrodes, which
is a big no-no for safety.
The company says that each one of its micro-batteries has enough space
between the electrodes and holds a low-enough charge on its own to
prevent that from happening. Every 12 inch silicon wafer houses 36
million of these vertical micro-batteries, forming a macro-battery which
has the added benefit of charging faster because of its unorthodox
architecture. XNRGI has already built 600 of these for unnamed clients.
It's worth noting that XNRGI's batteries are recyclable, and are not as
susceptible to thermal runaway as traditional lithium-Ion batteries.
Their energy density of over 400 Wh/kg makes them less expensive to make
and thus an ideal candidate for EVs and grid-storage. That said, the
company claims it can achieve the same $150/kWh regardless of the
application or scale, which means these benefits are also available for
all manner of consumer electronics such as wearables, smartphones,
tablets, and laptops.
Hallquist says the development of this battery technology was supported
by an $80 million investment from Intel and Motorola, as well as public
sources like the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy. Her company has
exclusive rights to sell these batteries to utility companies in North
America and is looking to start shipping them early next year.
To put things in perspective, the current global capacity for battery
technology is around 150 gigawatts. The inconvenient truth is that even
at an estimated compounded annual growth rate of 40%, it's too little
for our dreams of an electric future. Batteries also haven't really
gotten any cheaper and they represent 35-45% of the price of an electric
car. Until that changes, even if we could make more EVs, they'd still be
too costly for the average consumer.
This is where companies like XNRGI can help, provided that they play
their cards right. By using manufacturing techniques that are already
mature such as those used by chipmakers, they can cram more energy in
less space at a lower cost, all while adding the most important
ingredient needed in a car -- safety -- which you can see demonstrated
in this video. In any case, this might just be the dream battery we've
all been waiting for.
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