24 m: or to completely change the lithium battery company

When all eyes are focused on the tesla in Reno, Nevada construction on a large scale battery factory, Gigafactory, the United States on the other side of the Massachusetts has a secret start-up, in a completely different way to design and manufacture of batteries, company executives said their batteries to overthrow in power grid and electric vehicles.

24 m: the company to change the lithium battery

The company called 24 m, they are working on a new type lithium ion batteries the price cheaper than products on the market at present. Since the company with "more than 20 years, lithium ion technology is the most significant progress" to describe their batteries innovation, if the battery can deliver on its promises, which will help for important emerging markets provide low-cost battery.

Over the years, there have been dozens of emerging startups trying to break the existing battery industry with a new idea, but it is rare. 24 m in a crowded market will face fierce competition, such as battery giant, panasonic and LG.

Scientists at the Massachusetts institute of technology battery yet MingChiang was established in 2010, 24 m, 24 m is by his former battery company A123Systems derived. 24 m's idea is to create a battery that can be used to store more energy, at the same time also to shrink the other material of battery, he believes that can make a small battery.

Chiang wanted to know whether there is a way to significantly enhance electrode, electrode is the heart of the battery, and used for charging and discharging. At the same time, he wants to make the battery part more small, such as the partition between electrodes, the anode and cathode isolation; Or current collector, it can from the external battery receive electronic circuit.

Now, after the company was founded five years Chiang and his team of more than 50 people have found a way to abandon fell more than 80% without the role of energy storage materials, and compared with the traditional lithium ion battery electrode size increased five times. If a standard cross section of a lithium ion battery looks like a very complicated seven layer cake, 24 m battery anode and cathode looks like a big cross section of double layer cake.

Chiang said, if the company can prove that the manufacturing process is superior to the standard cell manufacturing, he hopes each battery manufacturers to be able to use this method to produce lithium ion battery." For me, the final victory will be whether this method will become the standard of battery production all over the world."

Team called 24 m battery "half solid", because the new battery electrodes in a semi solid and liquid state. Traditional lithium-ion battery production is the solid electrode is used.

Traditional the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries used in a large extent the R2R process, it needs to be a piece of thin wet coating electrode material is combined with a thin metal foil, and then described in big oven dry electrodes. When thin electrode finally dry hardening, can combine them together to produce batteries and supplement of liquid electrolyte.

Chiang said that most of the battery factory in this way, because it is a Japanese tape factory in the 90 s and 1980 s adopted by leading technology. Tape industry has suffered from the development of new data storage technology brought about by the hit, but this process is still deeply rooted in the production of lithium ion batteries.

According to Chiang, the complexity of the problems of this method is that it, it will take a long time, but also limits its scale expanding, not only make long battery production line, it also requires a lot of upfront money to build a large factory.

24 m plant design to remove the large dryer, greatly reduce the number of steps, and makes the factory manufacture in a way that is more modular, so also need only a small number of upfront investment., the company said its battery only traditional one 5 of the time of the battery.

24 m has covers an area of 32000 square feet of test site, using the new way in which it produced about 9000 cells. The company has begun to partners and potential customers distributing samples of these batteries. 24 m wants in 2017 to create a larger production factory.

With its simpler way of manufacturing, 24 m price should be much lower than the standard battery of lithium ion battery. By 2020, the company says, the battery will cost less than $100 per KWH. Now rival manufacturing some of the lowest cost of lithium ion battery are close to $200 to $250 per KWH.

Chiang described the 24 m technology as a "platform", can destroy the current lithium ion battery industry. The idea is that any company can use this method of design and manufacturing to make any type of battery, main use of off-the-shelf components, equipment and materials, and is combined with new way of manufacture.

The first batch of battery will be put into the market may be used in utility and commercial buildings in the grid. Height of utility and commercial buildings in the power grid from the factory to buy energy or match the new solar and wind power is a growing market. After that, the 24 m to the electric car battery sales.

So far, 24 m have raised $50 million in the two rounds of financing.

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