Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups in the energy industry. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. So, let’s take a look at promising advancements in lithium-ion solutions.
Heat Map: 6 Top Lithium-Ion Startups
For our 6 picks of lithium-ion startups, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 6 interesting examples out of 233 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.
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Prietto – 3D Solid-State Battery
3D solid-state batteries use no liquid electrolytes, and instead, use a highly conductive metal foam that can be shaped to fit spaces that are inaccessible. The advantages of these batteries include higher power density, longer lifespan, and improved safety.
Prietto, a startup from the USA, works on a 3D solid-state lithium-ion battery technology that is price-competitive, charges faster, and lasts longer. Other benefits include high power density, safety, and higher energy density.
Lionano – Advanced Cathode
Advancements in cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries enable numerous benefits, such as high energy density, which allows for lighter devices, longer electric vehicle driving range, lower charge frequency, and longer cycle life.
The US-based Lionano develops novel cathode materials which enable high energy density and excellent cycle performance in rechargeable Li-ion batteries. Currently, Lionano specializes in an advanced drop-in electrode material, which the company commercially produces for major battery manufacturers. The material has been nano-engineered to create batteries with higher capacity and cycle life.
Cadenza Innovation – Novel Cell Design
Innovations in cell design and packaging architecture for Li-ion batteries enable lower cost, higher safety and higher energy density for electric vehicles (EV) and grid storage applications.
Cadenza Innovation, a startup from the USA, develops a unique cell design that combines the best properties from wound jelly rolls and large prismatic cells and allows for game-changing high energy density at low cost for EV and grid markets.
Battrion – Fabrication Technology
Innovations in the Li-ion battery manufacturing process allow cell manufacturers to meet the growing performance, cost and safety requirements. For instance, emerging advancements improve the microstructure of the anode and cathode in order to enable fast charging.
Swiss company Battrion develops and markets fabrication technologies for lithium-ion batteries aimed at increasing the charging speed of high energy density cells. By innovating on a single step in the industrial battery manufacturing processes, the company’s patented technology improves the microstructure of the negative electrode, which constitutes the bottleneck for fast charging.
EnPower – Safety Improvement
Lithium-ion batteries have one important safety consideration, which limits the adoption of this type of energy storage – dangerous chemical reaction occurring in response to the fracture or other physical damage, which can lead to a fire or even explosion. That’s why startups are working to advance this storage technology in order to ensure the safety of the new generation of Li-ion batteries.
The US-based EnPower combines advanced anodes and cathodes with state-of-art cell technology and develops high-performance battery systems for demanding applications. The company claims that its advanced abuse-tolerant electrode can withstand dramatically increased charging rates while mitigating dangerous chemical reactions from happening.
Leyden-Jar – Silicone Anode
Today’s Li-ion batteries don’t provide enough energy quickly, that’s why startups and universities are looking for new material for cathodes and anodes that will improve energy density. Conventional lithium-ion storage uses a graphite anode, which is limited in the amount of lithium that can be absorbed. One of the alternative anode materials is silicon which enables higher energy density of Li-ion energy storage.
Dutch startup Leyden-Jar offers pure silicon anodes for Li-ion batteries produced by depositing the pure silicon directly on copper foil, providing a cost-efficient alternative to graphite-based anodes produced with a capital intensive coating process. Silicon anodes enable higher energy density of Li-ion battery cells.
What About The Other 227 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 6 lithium-ion startups showcased above are promising examples out of 233 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria and collaboration strategy, get in touch.
