A new study conducted by Echion Technologies (Echion) has revealed that its fast-charging XNO® anode material is not water-sensitive and that direct contact with water for extended periods of time has no effect on the material’s electrochemical and physical performance.
Stringent lab testing has found that the material is chemically resistant to water. During testing, XNO® samples were submerged in water for six months and then dried at a temperature of 60 °C. Once removed from the water and dried, the material samples passed a series of quality control checks, which indicated that its chemical and physical properties were unchanged by the presence of water.
Joris Pezin, Product Manager at Echion, said: “I am delighted with our latest findings and I know that they will have significant benefits for our existing and future customers. We are committed to conducting continuous testing, improvement works and enhancements to ensure that XNO® can be adopted as a ‘drop-in’ solution by cell manufacturers. XNO®’s chemical resistance to water means that it can be safely included in water-based manufacturing processes and easily stored. It also has a micrometric structure which means that no agglomerates occur during the manufacturing of batteries which ultimately means that it is easier to mix and produces a better yield than competitor materials. Furthermore, because of its high crystal density and micrometric size, XNO® is able to be easily calendared to 3.0g/cm3, which is similar to that of a cathode material.”
Joris continued: “Throughout the development of XNO®, we have placed ease of adaptability at the forefront of our thinking. These latest findings and the subsequent reduction in costs associated with storage, mixing and production will yield benefits for cell manufacturers and ultimately to OEMs and adopters of our technology.”
Echion’s niobium-based XNO® anode material uniquely enables lithium-ion batteries that can safely fast charge in less than 10 minutes, maintain high performance in extreme conditions and deliver high power over a cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles when used in heavy-duty applications. Echion has established a partnership with the world’s leading miner of niobium, CBMM, which means that XNO® is available at scale, today.
‘Get in contact with Echion Technologies today at: https://www.echiontech.com/contact.’
To find out more about Echion’s XNO® battery materials, visit: https://www.echiontech.com/.
Image caption: XNO® samples being tested inside Echion Technologies’ Cambridgeshire laboratory
For more information, please contact David Hartley at [email protected] or 01223 421834.
