The 24M company in Cambridge, Massachusetts owes its existence to a group of top battery inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs. It has been seeking investors for its semisolid lithium-ion battery prototype. On December 17, 2018 it announced it raised $21.8 million. Oil Price thinks the design could beat Tesla’s lithium-ion one hands down. We decided to stop by and learn more.
How SemiSolid Lithium-Ion Technology Works
The 24M company says, “the simple truth is that lithium-ion batteries are made the wrong way. This is because the process is cumbersome. It’s wasteful. Moreover, it’s woefully inefficient. 24M’s novel manufacturing process strips out the waste, speeds production and reduces the overall footprint.
“This slashes today’s lithium-ion battery costs by 50% and accelerates its adoption,” 24M adds. But how will they walk the talk? They say their semisolid lithium-ion process uses electrolyte as the processing solvent. This avoids the need for time-consuming, expensive steps such as “drying, solvent recovery, calendaring and electrolyte filling”. However we await solid evidence of this.
Our Method Has a ‘Structural Bills of Material’ Advantage
The 24M press release goes on to claim the design “eliminates the need for significant inactive materials’. And having less copper, aluminum and separator results in a lower cost to manufacture.
The company says its innovative semisolid lithium-ion prototype both reduces cost and improves battery performance. This could be critical for the future of electric vehicles, given the way performance demands are squeezing battery life. The new investors are advanced ceramics manufacturer Kyocera Group, and leading global trading company, ITOCHU Corporation.
The Following Performance Statistics May Prove 24M Right
$21.8 million is relatively small fry in the battery game. However David did slay Goliath while the giant mocked him. And 24M claims energy density between 280 and 300 watt-hours per kilogram according to Oil Price. This is a step ahead of the current 250 in top-end EV battery packs if correct.
Oil Price says 24M is “on a path to building lithium-ion batteries capable of reaching 500 watt-hours per kilogram”. Now that would put a disruptive fox in the industry chicken coop if true.
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