Technology company discovers way to utilize coal in battery anodes
We’re living in a battery-operated world – Everything from the cell phone in your pocket to the electric car inside your garage to the e-bike you ride around the city is powered by lithium-ion batteries.
X-MAT®, the Advanced Materials Division of Semplastics, is pioneering an innovative, greener solution to utilizing coal for energy. The company has successfully fabricated a full cell battery by combining a commercial cathode and their proprietary ceramic coal composite anode. This coal composite is currently undergoing testing and has already achieved over 450 cycles at a third-party laboratory, which is a significant step forward in the technology development. The team’s next step is to scale this technology for testing in single layer pouch cells.
The X-MAT® technology can also be used to upcycle graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries. “In the U.S., 95 percent of lithium-ion batteries aren’t being recycled,” said Bill Easter, founder of X-MAT®. “Graphite isn’t an unlimited resource and one day we will run out. X-MAT®’s team is combating this challenge by discovering innovative ways to recycle this resource and create new batteries that are just as powerful, if not more so, as their traditional counterparts – something many people thought would never be possible.”
Demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to grow, with no signs of it slowing down. Each year, demand is expected to grow by 25 percent resulting in 14x growth by 2030. X-MAT® revolutionary discovery can help meet this demand in an eco-friendlier way.
X-MAT® has gained support for its work with batteries from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. In 2020, the company was awarded a nearly $1 million contract to help fund the research for utilizing coal in batteries. This isn’t the first time the NETL has contributed to X-MAT®’s mission of developing new, cleaner ways to use coal – to date, the company has received $10.7 million in contracts and grants.
As the company continues its groundbreaking research on batteries, it has recently expanded its battery lab, located at the X-MAT® headquarters.
To learn more about X-MAT®, click here.
About X-MAT®, the Advanced Materials Division of Semplastics
X-MAT®, the Advanced Materials Division of Semplastics, launched in 2013. X-MAT® developed a revolutionary, high-performance material that combines some of the best properties of metals (electrical conductivity), engineering plastics (lightweight) and ceramics (high operating temperature). X-MAT® has had several partnerships including work with NASA, Space Florida and the NETL. X-MAT®’s game-changing material has various current applications including fireproof roof tiles, lightweight space mirrors, battery electrodes and 3D printed ceramics. X-MAT® technology can be custom-engineered to fit many specifications and has unlimited potential market applications. To learn more about X-MAT® capabilities and future projects, contact us.