Electric vehicles are taking over our roads. Especially in Western markets, plans are already well underway to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs).
You know what’s not going to change? The “car battery” inside these vehicles. No, not the lithium-ion battery that powers the engine of an EV. The other battery.
Traditional car batteries, more properly known as “lead-acid batteries”, are still being used in EVs to power all of the auxiliary electrical components in these vehicles.
High-voltage lithium-ion batteries are much too powerful for these low-intensity electrical components, so (old-tech) lead-acid batteries are still required. A Car and Driver article explains in greater detail why lead-acid batteries are here to stay.
HydroGraph Clean Power (CAN:HG / US:HGCPF), in partnership with Ceylon Graphene Technologies, is about to revolutionize the $40 billion per year lead-acid battery market – using a proprietary graphene compound produced by the two partners.
On March 14, 2023, HydroGraph announced this new partnership.
Ceylon Technologies has already invested years of R&D in developing graphene-based applications in lead acid batteries that can dramatically improve battery performance. The partnership with HydroGraph centers on a jointly produced graphene compound that is to be incorporated into the battery cathode.
As it nears the finish line, why has Ceylon chosen to team-up with HydroGraph to bring this commercial product to market? Because extensive laboratory testing has shown that a high-purity specific form of “fractal graphene” (produced only by HydroGraph) can greatly amplify this technological improvement.
HydroGraph’s 99.8%-pure fractal graphene will be combined with Ceylon’s “reduced graphene oxide” (RGO) to produce a proprietary graphene compound which is then added to negative active material in manufacturing of the cathode of lead-acid batteries.
A graphene composite powder in a battery cathode? How much difference can it make to battery performance to merely enhance the cathode with a graphene-based additive?
Initial performance data released in conjunction with this R&D indicates that this graphene composite improves the charging speed of lead-acid batteries by 47%.
That’s not a minor improvement. That’s a revolutionary leap forward.
The higher charge rate will make the battery more suitable for “idle start-stop” environments (ISS) such as city driving or other environments that require frequent starts and stops. This strains the charging capacity of traditional lead-acid batteries.
But that’s only one measure of how these graphene-enhanced cathodes will improve battery efficiency/performance.
This high-efficiency, graphene-improved cathode will also translate into improved battery life and performance.
It’s ultimately a fairly straightforward equation. Dramatically improve the charging efficiency of a battery and you will also improve both the performance and durability of that battery as well. Further data should be forthcoming in future news releases on these additional performance/capacity gains.
Lead-acid battery production is a huge commercial market. All that will change going forward is that a lot more of these batteries will be sold in EVs.
The headline here is already exciting.
HydoGraph (and its partner) are bringing a revolutionary improvement to this $40 billion per year market. Because of the cost of a cathode, graphene is a relatively minor input to the battery (by quantity). Even extremely robust margins on this graphene composite will have only a minor impact on the final price of the battery.
Translation: there is no price barrier here to stand in the way of 100% adoption by the automobile industry. Indeed, this graphene coating can be expected to save money for automobile manufacturers (and incrementally lower the cost of an EV).
Think about it. The improved charging speed leads to additional gains in battery life and performance. And in some applications, allows for a smaller battery.
Manufacturers will benefit from reduced costs and the need to source less raw materials. Extended life implies less batteries requiring disposal – good for the environment.
Win/win. And a “win” as well for HydroGraph (and its shareholders).
However, astute investors will be looking past this headline and taking away some general talking points for themselves from this news.
- HydroGraph has now demonstrated that its industry-leading, 99.8% pure fractal graphene can significantly improve performance in graphene R&D that is already underway. Other players in graphene R&D will be motivated to team-up with HydroGraph in new partnerships to advance their own R&D.
- This is merely the first “graphene enhancement” to be incorporated into EV production.
For graphene manufacturers, bringing a new product to market is a big step forward…unless shortly afterward a competitor comes out with a better version of the same product.
How do you avoid that potential commercial mine-field? Bring a superior product to market, one that can’t be easily “disrupted” by industry competitors. Adding industry-leading graphene as an additional input to their product is an attractive strategy here for graphene product developers.
Then there is the Big Picture for graphene (and EVs).
Investors familiar with graphene (and HydroGraph Clean Power) will already be aware of graphene’s game-changing properties:
- 200 times as strong as steel
- 10X more conductive and 1,000X the current capacity of copper
- Ultra-light weight: a single-layer sheet of graphene large enough to cover a football field would weigh less than a gram
Electric vehicles are now on the market. But the Electric Vehicle Revolution is just beginning.
Next comes all the innovations: making EVs better and/or cheaper (most likely both).
How? A thousand-and-one incremental changes to EV design. Making the many components that go into an EV better or smaller or cheaper.
Look again at the superior properties of graphene. How many EV parts could be made “better” or “smaller” or “cheaper” by enhancing them with graphene?
That’s a tough question. Here’s an easier one.
Are there any components of an EV that could not be improved in some way through incorporating the advantages of graphene? Doubtful.
Graphene is poised to revolutionize industries, even many of the industries that are regarded, themselves, as “revolutionary”.
HydroGraph Clean Power is positioned to revolutionize graphene production, through the efficient (and commercial scale) production of its industry-leading graphene, using the Company’s proprietary Hyperion Detonation technology.
Today, the EV market. Tomorrow, the world.
HydroGraph.com
DISCLOSURE: HydroGraph Clean Power is a paid client of Dynamic Wealth Research. The writer holds shares in HydroGraph Clean Power.
