AquaLith has its eye on a billion-dollar market alternative: new forms of battery cell elements that don’t depend on the scarce metals usually utilized in lithium-ion battery packs, that are more and more in demand with the rise of electrical automobiles.
In line with McKinsey & Firm, revenues alongside the lithium-ion battery worth chain will develop from $85 billion in 2022 to over $400 billion in 2030, with lively supplies and cell manufacturing presumably having the biggest income swimming pools.
With an unique license from the College of Maryland based mostly on the work of lithium-ion battery researchers Chunsheng Wang and Kang Xu, AquaLith is working to create, within the firm’s phrases, “denser, cheaper and safer” batteries by remodeling their main elements: the detrimental anode, the constructive cathode, and the electrolyte that transfers ions between the 2 electrodes.
Cathodes at the moment account for about 40% of the price of battery supplies. AquaLith, which is a part of TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200 this 12 months, replaces the necessity for nickel and cobalt in cathodes with uncooked supplies which are a lot simpler to entry and course of whereas nonetheless offering excessive power density. This cobalt-free cathode know-how, which may cut back the price of the cathode by greater than 50%, might enchantment to EV makers which are weak to China’s management over battery element provide as geopolitical tensions intensify.
“We have now a excessive power density cathode that has a lot less complicated supplies that go into it, supplies which are obtainable anyplace on the planet,” defined Greg Cooper, founder and CEO at AquaLith.
“Cobalt just isn’t broadly obtainable around the globe. The very best cobalt mines are in Congo, so there’s a provide chain constraint there. A variety of Chinese language corporations management the cobalt mines, so there’s fear in some elements of the world about entry to these supplies. We have now a cathode that eliminates the necessity for these supplies, however nonetheless has very excessive power density,” he added.
Then there are anodes. As an alternative of the everyday materials of graphite, AquaLith makes anodes with silicon microparticles, which, based on Cooper, can cut back the price of the anode by greater than 75% whereas bettering the power density by greater than 40%. Its opponents use some type of nanosilicon, which is considerably dearer.
Lastly, the corporate makes an attempt to make batteries safer by changing the natural solvent-based electrolyte with a water-based electrolyte, which is nonflammable.
“If you begin to have a parking storage stuffed with EVs or a bus depot or cargo ship stuffed with electrical automobiles, then you must fear rather a lot,” the founder stated.
Traditionally, a battery cell element maker like AquaLith could be promoting to battery makers, however the startup has plans to supply its merchandise to automakers throughout the subsequent 12 months as automakers have gotten battery makers themselves. The thought is to get into their improvement cycle early so the automobile producers can begin testing AquaLith’s supplies for integration into future merchandise.
“We are going to start with the automakers within the subsequent 12 months as a result of they decide the important thing necessities for acceptance into automotive. We may also be approaching different battery makers after initially partaking with the automakers,” Cooper stated.
Trying forward, AquaLith plans to boost $5 million in 2023 and enhance its whole funding to $10 million subsequent 12 months and $20 million the 12 months after.