Texas EV Battery Startup Takes Purpose At Texas Oil Business

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Oh the irony, it burns. Public officers in Texas have been on a rant towards clear vitality investing, but the state is house to a rising variety of startups aimed toward pushing the oil business right into a sidebar of the worldwide economic system. The newest instance is the Austin startup Group1, which is launching a brand new potassium-based vitality storage system aimed toward supporting the excessive performing, lower-costing, and extra environmentally pleasant EV battery of the long run.

A New Potassium EV Battery Rises, In Texas

Group1 crossed the CleanTechnica radar in 2022, shortly after the vitality storage innovator spun out of analysis performed within the laboratory of John Goodenough on the College of Texas at Austin. Goodenough, a Nobel Laureate, performed a number one function within the invention of lithium-ion battery expertise.

Group1 has been shifting alongside at a fast clip over the previous two years. Final September, the startup acquired an funding of $250,000 from a $10 million UT seed fund, to assist speed up industrial manufacturing of the corporate’s new potassium system for EV batteries.

The seed fund is managed by the college’s Discovery to Influence workforce, which is tasked with supporting startups that deploy mental property developed at UT.

“The funding will assist Group1 improve its workforce, broaden manufacturing capability of its product potassium cathode materials, Kristonite, to pilot scale, and forge enterprise partnerships with Tier1 cell and automotive producers that want to set up a home, ‘lithium different’ answer,” UT defined in a press launch dated September 29, 2023.

One Potassium EV Battery To Rule Them All

Group1 has massive plans for the potassium EV battery of the long run, and UT is there for it.

“Group1’s product, Kristonite, a 4V cathode materials — Potassium Prussian White — allows KIBs [potassium-ion batteries] that may ship quicker charging with enhanced security and better vitality density when put next with lithium iron phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries or sodium-ion batteries, making them the way forward for the vitality business,” the college enthused final yr.

“To this point, Group1 has raised $7.5 million to convey KIB expertise to market and is at the moment within the early phases of engagement with main supply-chain companions and a number of other of the biggest and most respected cell producers within the U.S. and world wide,” they added.

No kidding. Along with an unique license from UT, in June of 2023, Group1 introduced one other licensing settlement with Sharp Company.

“This settlement grants Group1 unique rights to Sharp’s patent portfolio associated to Potassium based mostly cathode supplies, enabling the subsequent era of sustainable, environment friendly, and cost-effective batteries,” the corporate defined.

“Potassium Prussian White (KPW), a spotlight of Group1 and a part of the licensed portfolio, is a 4V cathode materials and stands out for being freed from vital minerals comparable to Lithium, Cobalt, and Nickel, enabling sustainable Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs),” they added, noting some great benefits of a provide chain nearly solely positioned in North America.

Group1 additionally took the chance to emphasise that its new potassium system is engineered as a drop-in substitute, appropriate with current lithium-ion EV battery manufacturing amenities.

All Eyes On The World’s First 18650 Potassium EV Battery Cell

Group1 embarked upon its potassium journey with a coin-cell format earlier than shifting on to pouch-type cells. Within the newest growth, earlier this month Group1 launched a cylindrical 18650 model, billed as the primary of its form on the earth.

“As a part of this launch, Group1 is delivering samples to key Tier 1 Authentic Tools Producers (OEMs) and cell producers, marking a major milestone in vitality storage,” Group1 reported in a press launch dated August 1.

The corporate additionally took the chance to remind everybody that its new battery “allows the very best mixture of efficiency, security, and value when in comparison with LiFePO4 (LFP)-based LIBs and Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs).”

When it comes to cellular vitality storage, the 18650 format is a crucial step. The cylindrical form was initially popularized for handheld units within the Nineteen Nineties and it has loved a second life as the popular format for an EV battery cell (18650 refers back to the dimensions 18 millimeters in diameter by 65 millimeters lengthy).

What’s The Huge Deal About Potassium?

Lithium-ion batteries aren’t going away any time quickly, however supplying sufficient lithium for a lot of thousands and thousands of electrical autos over the approaching years is a gigantic endeavor fraught with the environmental impacts of lithium mining and brine evaporation.

Some impact-reducing options are starting to emerge, together with enhancements in EV battery recycling expertise and new brine extraction techniques. The lengthy lifespan of latest EV batteries may even assist relieve a few of the stress.

New battery supplies like potassium current one other strategy, which is to keep away from lithium solely and use another provide chain. In distinction to lithium, potassium is an earth-abundant materials.

That’s not fairly so simple as it sounds. In 2021 the journal Nano Vitality revealed a state-of-the-technology overview noting that “the event of rechargeable potassium batteries continues to be in its infancy,” although the analysis workforce additionally recommended pathways to clean the highway in the direction of commercialization.

When it comes to federal funding for EV battery R&D, potassium batteries haven’t been very excessive on the to-do checklist of the US Division of Vitality. Nevertheless, final yr the company did allocate nearly $2.6 million to the California startup Venture Ok in assist of the agency’s potassium-ion EV battery, as a part of a $42 million funding pot aimed toward decreasing the price of EV batteries whereas enhancing efficiency.

Texas Startups Killing Oil Business

As for Group1, CEO Alexander Girau makes no bones about his firm’s potential influence on transportation decarbonization.

“By distributing samples to our companions amongst Tier 1 OEMs and cell producers, we’re paving the way in which for widespread adoption of this transformative expertise,” he defined in a press assertion.

In the meantime, hold your eye on the Dallas department of the College of Texas, which is outwardly in competitors with the Austin department to see who can take credit score for the foundational analysis behind America’s subsequent prime EV battery.

Final September, the US Division of Protection allotted $30 million in the direction of the institution of a brand new vitality storage campus at UT-Dallas.