The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Solid Power
Inc. of Louisville, Colo., have signed an exclusive agreement licensing
lithium-sulfur materials for next-generation batteries.
The company licensed a portfolio of ORNL patents relating to
lithium-sulfur compositions that will enable development of more
energy-dense batteries. ORNL’s proof-of-concept battery research has
demonstrated the technology’s potential to improve power, operating
temperature, manufacturability and cost as well.
“We’re thrilled to add the technology developed at ORNL to Solid Power’s
portfolio of novel materials and processes built around manufacturing a
better battery,” said Douglas Campbell, president and CEO of Solid
Power. “The intellectual property ORNL has perfected better positions
Solid Power to successfully achieve its mission.”
The mission of Solid
Power is to develop next-generation energy storage devices for the
rechargeable battery market, which is dominated by lithium-ion
technologies. The current annual rechargeable battery market is
estimated at $12 billion and is anticipated to grow to $20 billion by
2020 to meet demands in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and
military, aerospace and industrial applications.
The ORNL technology will aid Solid Power in the development of
solid-state rechargeable batteries that can provide two to three times
the energy of conventional lithium ion technologies. Because all-solid
batteries lack any volatile or flammable liquid components, they hold
potential to save costs by eliminating many of the expensive safety
features typically associated with lithium-ion systems.
Solid Power plans to bring the technology to market using a simple
battery cell architecture that leverages industry standard manufacturing
processes. The company recently constructed a 700-square-foot dry room
facility with roll-to-roll processing capabilities that will translate
to production scale. This capacity will allow the first large-scale
prototypes to begin production before year’s end and to continue in 2016.
ORNL and UT-Battelle work closely with licensees to ensure successful
commercialization of licensed technologies. More information concerning
licensing of ORNL technologies can be obtained at http://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/technology-licensing.
The technology was developed by a team of current and former ORNL
researchers, including Chengdu Liang, Nancy Dudney, Adam Rondinone, Jong
Keum, Jane Howe, Wujun Fu, Ezhiylmurugan Rangasamy, Zhan Lin and Zengcai
Liu. The license was negotiated by ORNL commercialization manager Eugene
Cochran.
ORNL research and development on the lithium-sulfur materials was
supported by DOE’s Office of Science and the Vehicle Technologies Office
in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Materials
synthesis and characterization were conducted in part at ORNL’s Center
for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science User Facility.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of
Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical
sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to
address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more
information, please visit science.energy.gov.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151123006294/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2015
Source: Business Wire
(November 23, 2015 - 4:49 PM EST)
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