One of the challenges facing the electric vehicle industry is battery supply. In May of this year, Tesla’s global supply manager stated that the company is planning for a shortage of key battery materials. Automakers are working to vertically integrate battery manufacturing into their business to ensure that they will have access to batteries when needed.Electric Vehicle Battery technology
In large part, this is happening because Lithium-ion batteries are the standard for rechargeable cells. They’re used in everything from cameras and phones to EVs. In addition to being expensive and dependent on scarce resources, Li-ion batteries carry a danger of overheating and catching fire or even exploding. That’s why airlines don’t want these batteries in their cargo holds. On top of that, building new factories to make Lithium-ion batteries is expensive and time-consuming. Tesla invested $5 billion in its Nevada Gigafactory to produce batteries for the Model 3 in-house. Tesla’s capacity is at about 24 GWh today, and up to 35 GWh when completed in the next year.
What’s needed is a new battery architecture that’s easier to make. Ideally, the new battery design would have higher energy density and a faster recharge time to make it ideal for vehicle use.
You already know what comes next: a company called XNRGI based near Portland, Oregon says they have the answer. That’s not uncommon in itself. Many people have claimed to have a miracle battery, but they always seem to say they can’t tell you about it yet.
The difference with XNRGI is that they’ve got a portfolio of published patents tied directly to their Powerchip battery technology, and they’ve applied for several more. The company has also received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for their research. With patent protection and funding in place, XNRGI is eager to tell the world what they’ve got.
