The drive to a better lithium-ion battery has often hit a wall in the lab, with teasing innovations that can’t make the leap to scale and success. NanoGraf believes it can make that leap, and in the process lighten the battery load for U.S. troops carrying or otherwise porting electronic equipment in the field. The Chicago-based startup has unveiled an 18650 lithium-ion cell it claims has the world’s highest energy density of its type: 800 watt-hours per liter.

NanoGraf announced a major battery performance milestone — the development of a 800 watt-hour per liter (Wh/L) silicon-based anode battery cell. This is the highest energy density 18650 cylindrical lithium-ion cell in the world and provides a 28 percent longer run time than traditional cell chemistries.

The company’s silicon-oxide anode material can increase battery capacity in the 18650 form factor by an initial 12% at a potentially commercially competitive price.

Chicago-headquartered NanoGraf Technologies today announced a major battery breakthrough. It claims it has enabled the highest energy density cylindrical 18650 Li-ion cell in the world. The company says that the 800 watt-hour per liter (Wh/L) silicon-anode based cell provides a 28% longer run time than traditional cell chemistries. It’s working with a top-tier battery company to manufacture its batteries.

Setting up factories in the United States makes sense, but it’s also not straightforward. Dr. Francis Wang, CEO of battery technology company NanoGraf, admitted, “We don’t have a supply chain in the United States. I think we’re trailing behind.”

He continued, “The battery business is a tough business. It’s incredibly capital-intensive. It costs millions, if not billions, of dollars to get a factory off the ground. The margins are pretty tight. Razor-thin. And there is a tremendous amount of risk.”

NanoGraf Technologies has demonstrated a new high energy density Si-based anode material that has the long-term potential to replace graphite-based anodes in lithium-ion batteries. NanoGraf uses a proprietary silicon alloy-graphene material architecture to overcome the silicon anode technical hurdles.

Dr. Francis Wang of NanoGraf: “Have the discipline to know when to stop. Technically-minded business leaders like me sometimes need to be reminded that research can’t go on forever, particularly if you’re running a business and especially if you’re running a startup. It’s key to understand early that you’re in a business, and you’re not a professor.”

“We don’t have a supply chain in the United States. I think we’re trailing behind,” said Francis Wang, chief executive of Chicago-based NanoGraf, which has developed a silicon anode that can be dropped into batteries to improve their longevity and recharging speed. Doing more than that is an imposing task. “The battery business is a tough business,” Wang said. “It’s incredibly capital intensive. It costs millions if not billions of dollars to get a factory off the ground. The margins are pretty tight. Razor thin. And there is a tremendous amount of risk.”

Energy storage, in the form of lithium-ion batteries, is one of the most important strategic assets for the realization of the Biden administration’s overarching clean energy vision. Yet, the 100-day review will likely uncover that due to persistent offshoring of manufacturing to Asia, the U.S. is utterly reliant on foreign producers for batteries supplied to our military and emerging growth markets such as EVs. Building a domestic battery supply chain to a level that’s sustainable will require major investment, intentionality, and long-term thinking.

NanoGraf, an advanced battery material company, has announced Dr. In Kim has joined as its new SVP of Product Development. Dr. Kim will lead NanoGraf’s team of scientists, technologists, and engineers – overseeing the research and development arm of the company.

The battery industry can anticipate broader support for research, production, and demand from the new administration. These predictions have caused an uptick in the price of lithium after a few sluggish years, signaling confidence in the coming match-up between EV raw materials supply and consumer demand. The time is ripe for American battery startups to shape America’s 21st century.

Congrats to our CEO, Dr. Francis Wang, for his inclusion as an honoree on the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 list. #Next1000 Exciting to see national recognition of our impact and disruption in the energy sector

Chip Breitenkamp of NanoGraf discusses American battery manufacturing, how to ensure a resilient and equitable supply chain, and how to create jobs.

This morning our VP of Business Development, Dr. Chip Breitenkamp, spoke about President Biden’s aim to replace the federal fleet with EVs on today’s Bloomberg Quicktake.

NanoGraf makes a key component for lithium-ion batteries that enables higher energy densities in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. Most of the science and product development requires a physical presence in a specialized laboratory environment, and flexibility to work from home just isn’t a viable option for the long run.

But the speed at which electric vehicles are adopted is arguably directly related to the limitations of the battery (i.e., energy density and cost). To solve this problem, NanoGraf has developed a silicon-based anode technology that will enable the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles to run considerably longer and charge faster than traditional lithium-ion batteries.

The holy grail of lithium-ion battery technology has been achieving the $100 per kilowatt-hour milestone, the price at which electric vehicles will be cost-competitive with internal combustion engine-based cars.

“Graphene is an amazing material, and it’s particularly amazing as a material for batteries,” Chip Breitenkamp, a polymer scientist and VP of business development at the graphene battery company NanoGraf, told Futurism. The tech, he said, can “make batteries charge faster and dissipate heat more effectively. This has big implications. It means power tools don’t overheat as quickly. It means home appliances serve families better, longer. And it eventually means [electric cars] can charge faster.”