Automotive Engineering - March 2021 - 29

NANO-CARBON ELECTRODE | ELECTRIFICATION FEATURE

NAWA Technologies'
founder Pascal
Boulanger is confident
that the company's
advances will bring
cost-effective solutions
to significantly boost
EV practicality.

Diagram of the 3D vertical technology for EV batteries.
on the market " ; see https://nawatechnologies.com.
Applying NAWA's technologies to lithium-based cells
would improve battery power by a factor of 10 and energy storage by a factor of up to three, Boulanger stated, with battery life cycle enhanced by up to five - and
charging time reduced to minutes instead of hours.
" Normally, for a given technology - and that's the
case for batteries using powders - you have to find a
compromise, " he noted. " And if you increase energy
you will decrease power; if you accelerate [the vehicle]
you will consume more. But there is something else in
a battery that is absolutely underestimated. "
EV owners have learned that the more you drive,
the faster you discharge the battery. Unlike a tank of
gasoline, EV energy consumption is not linear. " This
will also be the case for our technology - however, at a
higher level of both power and energy, meaning that
you will have more margin and the 'over consumption'
will be lower, whatever the state of charge, " Boulanger
said. Initial results with NAWA's development partners,
including battery giant SAFT, show that an advanced
lithium-ion battery with a UFCE minimally doubles the
kW-h stored. " EVs could draw on more power to go
faster but farther at the same time, " he said.

BOTH IMAGES: NAWA

Carbon nano-material synergies
The 3D electrode is designed for manufacturability, he
said. The VACNT manufacturing process is " very similar " to the production of photovoltaics or industrial
glass treatment. Boulanger claimed that nanotubes
are " not expensive " to produce: the equipment is
proven, and processes are greatly improving both in
throughput and yield, keeping costs low. " We envision
it can be similar in terms of dollars-per-square-meter
to a coating, but with a lower bill-of-materials coming
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from the natural and sustainable carbon sources. We will have more
energy per square meter, the cost of that energy will be lower in
terms of dollars-per-watt-hour, too, " Boulanger said.
In moving toward commercialization, Boulanger is aware of the
hurdles. " There are various ways of introducing our concept of
3D-electrode to the market, " he said. The easiest way is to grow a
very thin layer of VACNT on a copper substrate to compete with existing carbon-coated copper substrates already in use in the battery
industry. This method will yield electrical performance and anchoring
of the electrode material that is superior to the incumbents and can
be ready in small volume production in 2021, he said. Longer term, a
real 3D and thicker UFCE " could be on the market in low volumes by
early 2023 in 3D electrode form, reaching mass production in 2025. "
Potential applications of NAWA's UFCE technology extend into hydrogen fuel cell systems. One uses NAWACap ultra-capacitors to harvest energy that would otherwise be lost. The UFCE also can serve as
an electrode for the fuel cell membrane " because VACNT are known to
be able to reduce the loading of platinum, " thus saving cost, Boulanger
said. And materials developments by another NAWA Group unit can
reduce the weight and improve the strength of the hydrogen carboncomposite storage tank. NAWA America, based in Dayton, Ohio, focuses on the commercialization of multi-functional, ultra-strong composites. Its NAWAStitch concept comprises a thin film containing the
same trillions of VACNT arranged perpendicularly to carbon fiber layers. Acting as " nano-Velcro, " this reinforces the weakest part of a composite - the interface between the layers - designed to greatly improve
resistance to shear and shock loading, stated Boulanger.
The 3D-UFCE and NAWAStitch are complementary to another innovation: NAWAShell. A structural hybrid battery incorporating
VACNT, it provides both enhanced mechanical strength and electrical
energy storage within the core of the composite structure. In the future, Boulanger sees " enormous potential in combining NAWAStitch
and NAWAShell to create ultra-strong, multi-functional lightweight
materials that can also store energy - for example, a solar roof panel
in a car that could generate energy stored within the roof, with almost no additional mass to the vehicle structure. "
March 2021 29

http://www.nawatechnologies.com/

Automotive Engineering - March 2021

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