THE TECH The company has supplied SiGr samples to certain customers, who are already looking to develop their nextgeneration SiGr batteries with them. While CalBattery says that SiGr works with existing cathodes and electrolytes, the company is also working on its own SiGroptimized cathode and electrolyte materials to use in full cells for EVs and cell phones. The Company is currently being sponsored by a global industrial giant to build and demonstrate an 800 Wh/l cell phone battery in Q1, 2014. Most of the prospective Calbattery OEM customers have already developed their own cathodes and electrolytes and are just looking for a high-capacity yet stable silicon anode material. The bottom line for Roberts is that SiGr can be used as a drop-in replacement for current graphite-based anodes. And with a Who’s Who in both the EV and lithium battery worlds waiting in line to incorporate the Calbattery silicon anode material into their nextgeneration EV and cell phone batteries, he thinks the company can capture 10-25 percent of the estimated $6 billion LIB anode market by 2020.
“If it’s not the Holy Grail, it’s one of the keys to substantially improving the next generation of lithium batteries without a doubt,” Roberts said. “From my experience it’s what everybody’s been looking for, and I would say it’s the most promising lithium battery material entering the market today. A lot of people talk about lithium-air or sulfur, and while it’s exciting, that’s a long time down the road to a commercial product, if ever. This anode product is designed as a drop-in replacement for graphite, and it’s going to improve anything and everything that needs to store energy practically and cost-efficiently. It not only pays for itself, it is fundamental to making high energydensity lithium batteries possible in the very near future. That’s why we think it’s going to be a game-changer making the cost of EVs on par with gas vehicles, tying renewables together with low-cost grid energy storage and - my daughter Jasmine’s favorite - making it possible to use a smart phone for twice as long on a single charge. It’s a potentially disruptive technology that could transform a lot in our society for the better.”
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