Nanoramic Laboratories has announced that GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Co., has made a strategic investment in a leading energy storage and advanced materials company, Nanoramic. The collaboration focuses on joint development and application of Nanoramic’s proprietary Neocarbonix® at the Core electrode technology for EV lithium-ion batteries, which targets improvements in EV battery cost, efficiency, and sustainability.
Nanoramic’s Neocarbonix® at the Core is an electrode technology platform for cathode and anode designed for high-throughput manufacturing free of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, enabling batteries with lower cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and excellent performance. Neocarbonix® achieves this by replacing conventional binder systems with a 3D nanocarbon mesh. This eliminates polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binders from the cathode and the related need for NMP solvent in the manufacturing process. When applied to anode, Neocarbonix® enables long-cycle-life silicon anodes using low-cost active materials.
“Nanoramic shares GM’s commitment to an all-electric future, and we are thrilled by our collaboration,” said Eric Kish, CEO of Nanoramic. “Nanoramic’s Neocarbonix® at the Core technology is uniquely positioned to support lower cost in batteries, a key to continuing EV growth. This technology is an innovative and practical solution to commercialize batteries with strong performance, better environmental friendliness, and vitally – lower cost.”
“Our integrated technology strategy aims to combine Nanoramic’s breakthrough technology with GM’s extensive network of resources to build more efficient EV batteries,” said Kent Helfrich, president, GM Ventures. “This collaboration has the potential to improve both cost and sustainability in battery manufacturing for our Ultium EV Platform.”
GM is rapidly scaling production to reach 1 million units of annual EV capacity in North America by 2025. As the company continues its transformation, GM also remains committed to sustainability with the goal of making its global products and operations carbon neutral by 2040.
As an NMP-free process, Neocarbonix® targets making high throughput electrode manufacturing on conventional equipment possible, reducing the manufacturing footprint and capex required for conventional lithium-ion production lines. This importantly reduces the CO2 footprint of the battery manufacturing process by 25%, placing the technology as a frontrunner for sustainability. With next-generation silicon anodes on the horizon, a crucial challenge is being able to use inexpensive silicon materials without being limited by cycle life. Neocarbonix® is designed to unlock the full potential of off-the-shelf silicon materials, offering a practical solution for long-lasting and high-performance silicon anodes. As a chemistry agnostic platform, Neocarbonix® can be used with any cathode and anode material and is applicable to conventional lithium-ion, solid-state, and beyond.