QuantumSphere Inc. (Santa Ana, CA), a manufacturer of metallic nanopowders for fuel cell and battery industry applications, announced that it filed two patents related to the fuel cell and battery industry allowing for customization of nanometallic-additives for increased power and efficiency. The first patent supports the company’s existing technology framework that will enable battery and fuel cell manufacturers to address novel methods to produce uniform air cathodes. Proprietary features in nanopowder handling enables the production of air cathodes in small test sample sizes up to continuous production capability using the same apparatus, thereby enabling battery manufacturer’s research and development facilities to accomplish complex experimental designs, while enhancing scale-up capability of resulting designs.
The second patent addresses gas-diffusion electrodes for the fuel cell and metal-air battery industry using nano-sized transition metal catalysts and alloys. The nanometal-containing cathodes can be used in conjunction with a variety of types of battery and fuel cells, including zinc-air, lithium-air, hydrogen, and direct-methanol fuel cells. In addition, they are flexible and may conform to a variety of surface contours, allowing for more freedom in cell design to power a wider variety of devices.
"This new cathode-making process, coupled with the addition of highly active catalyst, is invaluable for the production of high-power density fuel cells and batteries, which are streamlined and can be tailored to a wide array of devices -- thereby providing significant performance advantages in the next generation cell phones, cameras, and other portable electronics," said QuantumSphere Fuel Cell Research Director Kimberly McGrath. "QuantumSphere will continue to work with world-class partners, such as DoppStein Enterprises and others, to research, develop, produce, and ship alternative catalyst products on a mass scale at a fraction of the cost."
