PAGE TITLE
Overview
PAGE SUMMARY
Lithium-ion (Liion) batteries provide the highest specific capacity among commercially available battery technologies and have dominated the portable electronics battery market in the past few decades. They represent more than 1/3 of the overall $23.5 Billion battery market. However, these batteries have reached their theoretical limit for specific capacity (i.e. battery run time between charges for a certain battery weight or volume), and there is a critical unmet need to develop new technologies that can provide significantly higher battery run time/capacity. To this end, companies are heavily investing in material development for future batteries (not commercial yet) with two key focus areas – 1) next generation Li ion batteries with new and advanced electrode materials and 2) disruptive breakthrough technologies such as Lithium-sulfur or lithium air batteries.
Researchers at Drexel have developed innovative methods to fabricate freestanding battery electrodes that are both “binder-free” and “current-collector-free” with the objective to lower device weight, reduce cost and enhance performance. By eliminating these heavy inactive components — binders and current collectors —we can boost effective specific capacities or run times of any battery technology by over 50% in comparison with powder-based electrodes (the state-of-the-art in electrode industry). The commercial significance of our materials has been validated by the strong level of interest we have already received from many of the leading suppliers in this sector including Panasonic, Bosch, Maxwell and several others.
APPLICATIONS
TITLE: Applications
Electrodes for supercapacitors
Electrodes for various batteries – lithium ion, lithium sulfur, lithium air
Various industrial sectors – mobile devices, automotive, etc.
Potential for incorporating into functional wearable materials
ADVANTAGES
TITLE:Advantages
Removes inert, non-functional material (binders and current collectors) to increase specific capacity
Electrospun process already available on commercial scale
Versatile process, any carbon precursor can be used
High cyclability and stability
IP STATUS
Intellectual Property and Development Status
United States Patent Pending- 13/688,296
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20150352767.PGNR.&OS=DN/20150352767&RS=DN/20150352767
Commercialization Opportunities
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Contact Information
Web Site
Kalra Research Group
http://www.chemeng.drexel.edu/kalraresearchgroup/
For Intellectual Property and Licensing Information:
Elizabeth Poppert, Ph.D.
Licensing Manager
Office of Technology Commercialization
The Left Bank, 3180 Chestnut Street, Suite 104
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 1-215-895-0999
Email: lizpoppert@drexel.edu
For Technical Information:
Vibha Kalra
Assistant Professor
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Drexel University
3141 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 1-215-895-2233
E-mail: vk99@drexel.edu