“Just like we civilians are increasingly relying on cell phones and tablets and everything else, the modern soldier is also transitioning towards these really power heavy devices in the field, [like] night vision goggles, weapon optics, all of the communications devices, GPS,” said Chip Breitenkamp, NanoGraf vice president of business development. “All of those things require more and more power.”

Battery tech startup NanoGraf has landed a $1.65 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop longer-lasting batteries to power military equipment. The grant from the DoD is meant to develop silicon anode-based lithium-ion technology that is compatible with all portable batteries. The goal is to increase equipment runtime by 50-100% when compared to traditional graphite anode lithium-ion cells, and allow batteries to have a shelf life of more than two years and operate across a wide temperature range from -4° F to 131° F.

Contributed Commentary By Francis Wang, CEO of NanoGraf

Energy storage defines the limits of our mobility today. From the small batteries that power our numerous portable electronics to the large battery packs that propel electric vehicles, we rely on powerful, rapidly evolving batteries to power the devices that enable our mobile and connected world.

Study after study shows that smartphone users want longer-lasting batteries more than any other feature. The average phone battery lasts less than a day, and many of us have grown accustomed to bringing a charger everywhere we go. A number of factors are making this problem even more acute.

Today startups across the globe have an unexpected opportunity to continue driving innovation in their respective industries to help themselves and their customers adapt. The good news for the entrepreneurs drafting the new playbooks on innovation is that they’re used to moving fast and adapting to changing markets. Here are three ways EU startups can win with innovation in the post-COVID era.

The battery startup landscape isn’t just populated by battery cell producers, it’s fueled by the success of a series of businesses that contribute to a thriving supply chain. From raw materials extraction to material processing to manufacturing cells, the lithium-ion battery industry relies on substantial financing to support innovation.

Our Business Advisor, Ralph Wise, takes a detailed look at the current battery industry and what it means for startups like NanoGraf in the coming decade.

The COVID-19 crisis is bringing into the public eye the US’ dependency on importing goods, particularly batteries for advanced energy storage and electric vehicles, the CEO, Dr Francis Wang, head of Nanograf, has said.

Better batteries have the potential to provide a more sustainable future. But our CEO, Francis Wang, argues in POWER Magazine that this can't happen at the pace it needs to without the stability of public investment.

Lithium-ion batteries will dominate the storage industry for years to come, but there hasn’t been a breakthrough in the technology in three decades.

Batteries with silicon anodes promise to make devices last more than 20 percent longer on a single charge.

As world demand for energy rapidly expands, transforming the way energy is collected, stored, and used has become a defining challenge of the 21st century. At its heart, this challenge is a scientific one, but it’s also a management one – How do you bring together, empower, and support the creative, multi-disciplinary, and multi-institutional scientific teams needed to tackle the toughest scientific challenges preventing advances in energy technologies?

To mark the ten-year anniversary of the EFRC program, the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences selected ten awardees that embody the extraordinary impact that the EFRCs have had on people, scientific ideas, and technologies and tools.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). The DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences launched forty-six such centers in 2009 to bring together teams of scientists to perform basic research beyond what is possible for individuals or small groups. To celebrate the ten-year milestone, DOE selected ten awardees to recognize their having made a major impact on scientific ideas, technologies and tools, and people. Hence, the award name is ​“Ten at Ten.”

It’s always hard to leave a dream job.

But in 2011, Samir Mayekar ’13 KSM ’06 WCAS knew it was the right time to go back to school and take a shot at entrepreneurship. His roles, working at the intersection of national security and energy under the Obama Administration, came to an end and he was eager to make a difference in the clean energy space.

Fast forward to 2019 and a company he founded, NanoGraf Corporation (formerly SiNode Systems), is the maker of an advanced battery material that could turn the lithium-ion battery market – with applications from consumer electronics to electric vehicles – on its head.

News Release: Usabc Awards $7.5 Million Technology Development Contract for Commercialization of High-Energy Anode Materials to Nanograf Technologies

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 17, 2019 – The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR), and a collaborative organization of FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, today announced the award of a $7.5 million technology development contract to NanoGraf Technologies in Chicago, Illinois for commercialization of high-energy anode materials.

If society successfully transitions to a green-energy future, odds are battery innovation will have helped get us there. By allowing the storage of sustainably produced energy, batteries have the potential to transform carbon-intensive systems as vast as the power grid and transportation sector

CHICAGO, IL (February 7, 2019) – NanoGraf Corporation, a Chicago-based developer of advanced materials raised an additional $1 million in Series A financing. The new investment comes from Hyde Park Angels and brings the total amount raised for the round to $5.5M. The initial investment came from JNC Corporation, a Tokyo-based specialty chemical manufacturer.