24M and NEC Collaborating on Next-gen Energy Storage

24M and NEC Energy Solutions, Inc. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby 24M has agreed to supply its semisolid lithium-ion cells for use in NEC Energy Solutions' integrated storage systems. In addition, the companies will work together to ensure that supplied 24M cells enhance NEC system energy density, life and cost. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, the 24M battery cells are optimized to withstand the rigors of the long cycle and calendar life required by grid-scale energy storage and other high-performance applications. They also combine superior design with manufacturing innovations to lower the total cost of ownership of a battery cell to just pennies per kWh, providing a rate of return equivalent to conventional fuel solutions.

“NEC Energy Solutions is excited to combine the 24M breakthrough cells with our industry leading storage systems to offer customers the most affordable and best in class energy storage systems,” said Bud Collins, CEO of NEC Energy Solutions, Inc. “Working together, NEC Energy Solutions and 24M will provide customers with high performance, 20-year battery life for reliable grid, off-grid and behind-the-meter solutions. We look forward to incorporating these breakthrough batteries into our best-in-class ESS deployments across the globe.”

NEC Energy Solutions combines ESS and intelligent controls to deliver innovative, tailored, technology solutions for electric grid, backup power and lead-acid replacement applications. The company also provides system integration expertise focusing on high performance, efficiency, safety and reliability.

“This agreement to supply 24M cells to NEC Energy Solutions, an established industry leader, is further validation of our cell technology,” said Throop Wilder, 24M’s CEO. “Through this MoU, NEC Energy Solutions and 24M will be able to bring industry-leading solutions to market more quickly and cost effectively, accelerating the adoption of advanced ESS across the globe.”

“The lithium-ion battery is a brilliant, enabling technology, but its economics are flawed. It’s prohibitively expensive; it’s cumbersome and inefficient to make; and today’s version is approaching the limits of its cost reductions,” said Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, 24M’s Chief Scientist. “24M has fixed the flaws. We’ve made the world’s favorite battery better, fundamentally changing its cost curve by designing a more elegant and simpler cell and then making the batteries the right way – the way they should have been made from day one.”

24M’s simple but breakthrough cell design is made possible by the semisolid thick electrode – a material science innovation originating in Dr. Chiang’s lab at MIT. Conventional lithium-ion battery cells have a large fraction of inactive, non-charge carrying materials – supporting metals and plastics – that are layered, one-on-top of the other, within a cell’s casing. Those inactive materials are expensive and wasteful. With the invention of the semisolid thick electrode, 24M eliminates more than 80% of these inactive materials and increases the active layer thickness over traditional lithium-ion by up to 5x. Using thick electrodes, the cell also stores more energy, bettering the performance of the battery as well as its cost.

The simplicity of 24M’s new cell design likewise begets a radically simplified advanced manufacturing process. The traditional method for making lithium-ion batteries takes days, is extremely capital-intensive and must run at high-volume to achieve economies of scale. 24M’s novel approach to manufacturing yields dramatic improvements: From Days to Hours: Start to finish, 24M’s cell creation takes one-fifth of the time of a conventional battery. Because semisolid lithium-ion doesn’t require binding, drying, solvent recovery or calendaring, it removes entire steps in the manufacturing process.

Ultra-low Cost: While the removal of manufacturing steps certainly contributes to lower capex, eliminating the need for entire plants makes semisolid lithium-ion ultra-low cost. A 24M factory requires about one-tenth the investment of a conventional plant. Flexible and Modular: Manufacturers can scale in small steps to match supply to demand, making lithium-ion cost effective even at low-volume production. Environmentally Friendly: 24M’s solvent-free manufacturing platform creates the most easily recycled lithium-ion cell ever made.

“We give the architects of our energy future everything they love about lithium-ion at a cost they love too,” said Throop Wilder, 24M’s CEO. “Together, our inventions achieve what lithium-ion has yet to do – meet the ultra-low cost targets of the grid and transportation industries. By 2020 our battery costs will be less than $100 a kilowatt-hour (kWh). We’re emerging at the right time with the right technology.”