Innovative vacuum technology
for manufacturing the basic elements of electrical energy storage devices using nanomaterials

Lifetime

Ten times more battery charge-discharge cycles

Easy scalable

Easily scalable (from laboratory – to production)
Production ready.

Specific capacity

Increases the density of stored energy to 400 Wh/kg, twice as much as existing technologies

High charge current

Storage device reliability increases at high charge currents

Charge time

Faster charge speed

Low cost

Gross profit of $90/kg using our high-vacuum deposition technology to create carbon-coated foils

The advantages
of vacuum technology

An innovative approach to the production of electrochemical storage devices – manufacture of the current collector, active electrode and separator in a vacuum, using the magnetron deposition method.
The reliability and energy characteristics of the electrical storage device are determined by:
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The strength of the connection between the electrode and the current collector

It is only possible to create a current collector with a low contact resistance and a high degree of affinity with the active electrode of the battery in a vacuum.

Ten times more battery charge-discharge cycles

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Electrode capacitance

Letting the electrode grow in a vacuum increases the surface of the electrode without changing its volume.

Increases the density of stored energy to 400 Wh/kg, twice as much as existing technologies

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Separator heat-resistance level

Layering the dielectric separator in a vacuum reduces the size of the electrical storage device.

Increased reliability and charge speed of storage device

Typical diagram of an electrical storage device  –  supercapacitor or battery
What we propose
We propose to replace existing manufacturing technologies for current collectors with our high-vacuum deposition technology.

Any electric storage device has metallic current taps. They are actually aluminum and copper foils. The thickness of the current collector foil is determined by the maximum current of the electrical storage device. The main drawback of the metallic foil used in an electrical storage device is the oxide film on its surface.
This oxide film protects the metal from corrosion, but also creates insurmountable obstacles for electrical storage because:

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it increases the internal resistance of the storage device
E
it leads to the formation of unwanted gases in the storage device where there is breakdown/perforation of the oxide film
E
it reduces the adhesion of the active electrode to the metal of the current collector
E
the breakdown of the oxide film induces the active electrode to flake off in an avalanche-like way from the current collector

So far no battery or supercapacitor manufacturer has been able to produce a current collector without the drawbacks mentioned above.

We propose to replace existing technologies for current collector manufacture with high-vacuum deposition technology.

Only in a vacuum can current collectors be manufactured without an oxide layer. This is done by replacing it with a chemically resistant and durable carbon coating with low contact resistance.

Current collector production

Existing technology
The standard industrial technology for manufacturing current collectors is the application of a certain amount of soot, the finest grade of carbon, onto a chemically purified foil.
The active carbon layer is created by mixing the carbon components for the electrode with a polymer binder and a solvent. Then the foil with the soot on it is rolled between shafts and dried.
Disadvantages

Unprotected surface

The chemical treatment of the foil removes the rolling lubricants from its surface, but still leaves the oxide film which hinders the adhesion of the electrode’s active carbon layer to the metallic foil

Degradation of the active electrode

The traditional production process using metallic electrodes – i.e. current collectors – often leads to the active electrode layer flaking off the foil and to the failure (or at least damage) of the battery or supercapacitor.
Our technology
Our vacuum coating deposition technology is able to spray layers of almost any chemical compound. Unlike mixing the chemical elements, even in protected environments, the process of layer deposition in a vacuum allows for obtaining the chemically pure and complex mixtures that are so essential for the active electrodes used in batteries or supercapacitors.
Installation for vacuum magnetron deposition on roll materials
Location of magnetrons in drum type installation

High speed coating deposition. Nanomaterials synthesis possible at relatively low temperatures of 200-300 C°.
Possibility of spraying carbon nanotubes with materials providing chemical storage of electrical energy.

Advantages

Protected surface

Our vacuum technology replaces the oxide layer and any dirt on the surface of the foil with a conductive and chemically very resistant protective layer of dense carbon.

Reduced resistance

Removing the oxide film and replacing it with a dense carbon coating 80 nm thick, improves the adhesion of the active electrode to the current collector and also tremendously reduces the contact resistance between the current collector and the active electrode.

Testing the chemical resistance of current collectors with our protective carbon coating produced by magnetron deposition

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Protected surface

If the aluminum surface is protected with a dense carbon layer, then the decomposition process of the aluminum foil will greatly slow down. Aluminum on its own breaks down in a matter of seconds. Carbon protected aluminum is destroyed only after several hours.
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Unprotected surface

The oxide film on the aluminum is easily destroyed with a 30% solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH). Aluminum without an oxide film will be degraded easily by water releasing hydrogen.

Testing the adhesion properties of our current collector

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Without coating

There is no adhesion possible of epoxy resin to the aluminum alloys. The oxide film and the continuing corrosion under the adhesive layer does not allow for sticking the aluminum sheets together.
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With coating

The dense carbon coating on the metal surface provides a reliable and strong connection for any materials, including that of the active carbon layer to the current collector of the battery.
Blog
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Jan 31, 2019 | Article, News

VACUUM CARBON TECHNOLOGIES THE BATTERY SHOW 2019 Team of Vacuum Carbon Technologies (VCT) led by Nikolai Kazimirov is to visit upcoming exhibition THE BATTERY SHOW 2019 in Stuttgart/Germany on May 7-9th, 2019. THE BATTERY SHOW 2019 VCT Team is to meet with Testing &...

About carbon/graphene coating on metal and plastic surfaces.

About carbon/graphene coating on metal and plastic surfaces.

Oct 6, 2018 | Article

VACUUM CARBON TECHNOLOGIES About carbon/graphene coating on metal and plastic surfaces Technically, there are two the most popular methods available on the market of applying carbon compounds on the surface of metal or plastic. The first method is smearing, which you...

Functional films on different materials

Functional films on different materials

Oct 6, 2018 | Article

VACUUM CARBON TECHNOLOGIES Functional films on different materials We are developing methods for magnetron coatings of functional films on various materials. We created coatings of different complexity: semiconductor coatings, coatings with high hardness and very low...

Energy storage Technology Development.

Energy storage Technology Development.

Sep 29, 2018 | Article

VACUUM CARBON TECHNOLOGIES energy storage technology First of all, the researchers are looking for an opportunity to increase the specific energy accumulated in one kilogram (liter) of the battery. At present, lithium-ion batteries with specific energy from 110 W ∙ h...

Possible applications

Electric vehicles

Electric car battery

Wh/kg

Our technology

Tesla Motors

Nissan-Renault

Mitsubishi Motors

Energy storage devices

Task

Production and consumption of electricity by means of large scale accumulation.

Our technology

Increased reliability of power supply, covering peak loads. Use of the difference in day and night tariffs.

Mobile devices

Task

To have the lightest possible battery.

Solution

Quick and easy recharge. Performance of multiple charge/discharge cycles during the life of the battery.

Our technology

5,000 charge/discharge cycles. Maximum amount of energy conserved, with minimal loss of capacitance.
Energy storage market
Using our high-vacuum deposition technology to create carbon-coated foils, gross profit reaches $90.
Income distribution and costs from the sale of 1kg of carbon-coated foil

Foil price $

Carbon coating cost $

Income $

Foil and current collector market price

Market share of lithium-ion batteries manufacturers

  • The total investment by Samsung SDI in battery development businesses reaches $7.8 billion.
  • Tesla Motors and Panasonic invested $5 billion in the GigaFactory project.
  • BYD (China, Brazil, USA) invested between $2 billion and $4 billion.
  • Other players in the market had investments of up to $500 million.
  • Tesla Motors & Panasonic alliance 39%
  • BYD (China, Brazil, United States) 20%
  • Boston Power (China) 9%
  • Samsung SDI 6%
  • Other players 26%

%

Annual average market growth for electrical storage devices

Total market for energy storage devices bn $

For the investor
We minimize the risks and give a return on the investment as quickly as possible.
The aim of the project is to build a pilot industrial installation for vacuum magnetron deposition on roll materials.
This equipment makes it possible to create
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The protective carbon coating

Current collector production – applying a dense carbon layer onto metal foil
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The separator

Separator production: application of a high temperature dielectric coating onto a high-porous electrode

The active carbon layer

Depositing a high-porous carbon electrode onto the current collector
Advantages of the high-vacuum magnetron deposition method
Deposition of materials providing chemical storage of electrical energy onto carbon nano-coatings
Nanomaterials synthesis possible at relatively low temperatures (200-300)C° compared to the arc method (over 500)C° and PECVD (500-600)C°
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High speed coating deposition. Easily scalable (from laboratory – to production)
Brief working plan

Step 1

  • The final result of the project is the production of industrial mass-production equipment, allowing the low-cost application of different carbon coatings (i.e. current collectors, active electrodes) onto roll materials (copper, aluminum foil, etc.).

The project duration is about 19 months:

  • In the first 7 months experimental but already working industrial equipment will be produced.
  • A further 12 months will be required for testing current collector samples with potential customers and to create a new, updated version of the equipment that is completely ready for commercial mass-production.
  • Further, it will be possible to produce industrial equipment in any quantities (2, 10, 100 pieces per year). It all depends on the investor’s desire and the availability of funds.

Step 2

  • Using the first industrial plant the following deposition technologies can be further perfected:
    • Dense carbon coating that protects the metal from chemical corrosion (the current collector or metal electrode).
    • Porous coating (active electrode).
    • Separator.
This approach allows for three fundamentally different production cycles in a single installation which means three times lower capital costs.
Only one year after the initial investment it will already be possible to begin industrial sales of prototypes of current collectors, active electrodes and separators to potential buyers.

Step 3

  • The current collector with its dense carbon coating is thus the first step to implement in the overall business plan for the following reasons:
    • This is the first coating, onto which the porous coating (the active electrode) will further be applied. And only after that will the separator be deposited onto the porous coating.
    • The second step will be the deposition of the active high-porous electrode onto the current collector.
    • The third step is the deposition of the separator.
There is already a big market for sales of our new type of current collector, which means that the investor will recover their investment quickly.
Such an operating sequence minimizes investors’ risks and guarantees a quick return on investment.
Other forms of cooperation, proposed by the investor, are also acceptable.
Contact us
Get the best from the world of innovation.
With 20 years of experience and efforts, our company’s specialists have focused on the development of vacuum deposition technology and applied it to energy saving in various fields: providing comfort in the living space, the storage of energy in the battery industry, the creation of multi-layer materials with new properties and much more.

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