Category: Blog

Through the cheers and jeers of 2020, Nanotech Energy had a lot to celebrate! Our work is breaking barriers in the use of graphene and offering products that will move society forward with energy efficiency. We are proud of the role we are playing in society and decided to end 2020 celebrating!

A Year of Accomplishment

All our public accomplishments are a culmination of years of research. We are grateful to our entire team of assistants, researchers, scientists and executives that keep moving us focused on our mission.

We had a great May. Not only did Nanotech officially close an oversubscribed Series C fund, we also launched a high-performing, non-flammable graphene battery, the Energy Graphene Super Battery, endorsed by Andreas Hintennach, Ph.D., global head of battery research for Daimler AG.

“This round of funding – with such high-level and committed investors – validates the need the international market has for our proprietary battery technology,” said Dr. Jack Kavanaugh, chairman and CEO of Nanotech Energy Inc.

“We are confident that we have a one-of-a-kind, industry-changing product that will impact the technologies and bottom lines of multiple end-user markets. This round of funding allows us to dramatically expand our production of graphene batteries, as well as our production of conductive epoxies, conductive inks and electromagnetic interference shielding spray paints and films. This will also facilitate our efforts to further increase our large-scale manufacturing of high-quality graphene that we provide for use in downstream applications.”

July was ushered in with recognition with a feature in the UCLA Technology Development Group’s July 2020 edition of Innovation Magazine. Jack Kavanaugh and co-founder Dr. Richard Kaner, distinguished professor at the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, led the team in being recognized for its Energy Graphene Super Battery.

Nanotech Energy owns the world’s first graphene patent, which was filed in May 2002 by Dr. Richard Kaner, Nanotech co-founder and UCLA professor of Chemistry and of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Kaner filed the patent two years prior to the notable graphene work of Nobel laureates Geim and Novoselov.

In September 2020, Nanotech Energy became the first graphene manufacturer to launch 90% of its content monolayers, reduced graphene oxide scaled for process. We are the first graphene producer to break the 50% content barrier. This is an incredible milestone in graphene production and we believe it will change the industry.

“The graphene that Nanotech Energy is now producing exhibits outstanding electrochemical properties and a unique combination of large surface area, high electronic conductivity and excellent mechanical properties,” stated Dr. Maher El-Kady, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nanotech Energy.

 “Our graphene products have the potential to radically transform the graphene industry by providing high-quality graphene that can used in a wide range of products with unparalleled performance including batteries, supercapacitors, functional inks, conductive epoxy and EMI shielding.”

We did not stop there! In October, Nanotech launched debut of Nanotech EMI Armour Paint & Sheets, graphene powered coatings and films for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding, as well as heat management. The EMI Shielding line currently contains six products – all of which are highly conductive and provide excellent external EMI/RFI protection while also preventing internal EMI/RFI leaks. The products can be sprayed, brushed, rolled or dip-coated onto various surfaces, such as glass, plastic and metal – depending on the specific product used. Our current product line also includes Silver Nanowires Powder, in Water and in Isopropanol.

“Nanotech’s EMI Armour products are critical to ensure the effectiveness and safety of today’s electronics,” stated Dr. Jack Kavanaugh. “As technology advances and more is demanded of sophisticated and sensitive parts, EMI shielding allows for complete sealing and ultimately making electronic devices safer for consumers. 

“Nowadays, humans rely on electronics more than ever before. While electronic devices bring great convenience to our lives, they also bring potential harm and a new form of environmental pollution. We have developed products that can block more than 99.9999% of the electromagnetic waves at a fraction of the weight of traditional materials.”  stated Dr. Maher El-Kady.

In December – we took a breath, relaxed and enjoyed our accomplishments! Scott Laine, Nanotech Energy COO, and Michael Lang, Nanotech Energy Global Sales Manager arranged quite the spread – with food, (non-alcoholic) drinks and Shigemi Minetaka, an accomplished Jazz/fusion pianist, serenading the team in the background. Scott was the primary speaker and dedicated his time in acknowledging each and every team member’s accomplishments and efforts. The surprise of the event was Ariana bringing her baby – which lit up every eye in the room!

Scott Laine, COO   

Michael Lang, Global Sales Manager

Scott presenting Alessandro with December’s Employee of the Month Award

Mike, Purchasing Manager 

Ariana, R&D Manager (congrats!)

Pashupati, Zhiwei and Reta

Trevor, Manufacturing Supervisor with Gaurav, Sr. Scientist and Project Leader in the background

As a leading manufacturer of graphene, we are so proud to referenced in a series of November articles focusing on our new generation of graphene batteries and our revolutionary graphene process.

Profiles of our graphene batteries in AZONano:

Nanotech Energy: Graphene-Based Batteries for Revolutionary Energy Storage
Nanotech Energy is developing a new generation of graphene lithium batteries with superior performance to those currently on the market. The batteries are expected to replace the traditional lithium-ion battery and feature revolutionary energy storage abilities. They find many applications in the modern world, such as electric vehicles. Read More

Nanotech Energy’s Non-Flammable Graphene-Based Battery
The world’s top supplier of graphene, Nanotech Energy Inc. has launched a high-performing non-flammable battery with a total investment of $27.5 million. Read More

Strategic Elements’ Self-Charging Battery with Graphene Oxide Materials

Graphene is being used in many different forms and in many functional products, with the portfolio of graphene products on the market continuously increasing. A lot of interest has been shown in graphene’s use in batteries, and it has since become an area of intense research and development. Read More

Interested in learning more about Nanotech Energy’s graphene process? Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE_IH8OkBo

Today we announced the launch of Nanotech’s EMI Shielding product line which currently includes six products – all of which are highly conductive and provide excellent external EMI/RFI production while also preventing internal EMI/RFI leaks. The products can be sprayed, brushed, rolled or dip-coated onto various surfaces, such as glass, plastic and metal – depending on the specific product used.

The Nanotech EMI shielding product line is based on the Company’s premium graphene technology and consists of the following:

• Eco Armour Sheets:https://nanotechenergy.com/product/nanotech-eco-emi-armour-sheets/
  
• Eco Armour Paint:https://nanotechenergy.com/product/nanotech-eco-emi-armour-paint/

• Elite Armour Paint: https://nanotechenergy.com/product/nanotech-elite-emi-armour-paint/

• Elite Armour Sheets: https://nanotechenergy.com/product/nanotech-elite-emi-armour-sheets/

• Ultra Elite Armour Paint: https://nanotechenergy.com/product/ultra-elite-emi-armour-paint/

• Ultra Elite Armour Sheets: https://nanotechenergy.com/product/ultra-elite-emi-armour-sheet/

Electromagnetic shielding prevents electromagnetic waves from impacting sensitive electronics – everything from televisions and microwaves to mobile phones and baby monitors, along with the critical computer processors in today’s smart devices.

Traditionally this has been achieved through metallic screens or metal enclosures built within the devices. Painting the shielding ensures a more thorough coverage with the potential of a reduced manufacturing cost.In addition, Nanotech EMI shielding products can also dissipate the heat away from sensitive electronic devices, allowing the regulation of their temperature and preventing thermal shutdown of modern electronics.We have developed products that can block more than 99.9999% of the electromagnetic waves at a fraction of the weight of traditional materials. Our press release: https://nanotechenergy.com/nanotech-energy-launches-emi-shielding-product-line/

We are incredibly proud to announce that today Nanotech Energy has become the first graphene producer to break the 50% content barrier with it’s 90% content reduced graphene oxide product. With this breakthrough, Nanotech is planning on two graphene product lines to address the market need for products with controlled oxygen content.

The first product line will contain an oxygen content of nearly 13-15%, and the second product line with 3% oxygen content. The release date for both graphene product lines are anticipated by year-end 2020.

For years the graphene industry has worked to improve the material produced so that it is optimal for most applications. Reports indicate that the properties of graphene are sensitive to the number of layers in the product, defects and contaminants. Considering structural features, the graphene family can be classified into three main categories: monolayer graphene, few to multi-layer graphene (2-10 layers) and graphite microplatelets (>10 layers). Although several graphene and graphene oxide products are currently available in the market, the majority of products are technically micro-platelets.

Dr. Maher El-Kady, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nanotech Energy commented: “The graphene that Nanotech Energy is now producing exhibits outstanding electrochemical properties and a unique combination of large surface area, high electronic conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. Our graphene products have the potential to radically transform the graphene industry by providing high-quality graphene that can used in a wide range of products with unparalleled performance including batteries, supercapacitors, functional inks, conductive epoxy and EMI shielding.”

Read our press release here: https://nanotechenergy.com/nanotech-energy-launches-90-content-graphene-scaled-for-process-the-first-and-only-graphene-producer-to-break-the-50-content-barrier/

Nanotech chairman and CEO, Dr. Jack Kavanaugh and co-founder, Dr. Richard Kaner were recognized this month for their work at Nanotech and building a safer, non-flammable battery. 

In commenting about the article, Jack Kavanaugh commented: “From a UCLA Energy Incubator to a recognized industry innovator, Nanotech Energy has developed game-changing graphene-based products – from conductive inks, conductive adhesives, electromagnetic shielding to safe and high-performance batteries.”

Richard Kaner, who holds the first patent on graphene technology, added: “Graphene is one of the strongest known materials, is completely flexible, and an excellent conductor of electricity. And because graphene can withstand large changes in volume, which makes it safe and non-flammable – graphene offers a number of industries high-performance and safe alternatives to currently used materials, as in battery storage.”Read the UCLA Innovations article at:
https://tdg.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/202007/TDG_Innovation_Magazine_July2020_v11a.pdf

Batteries have been a basic tool of society for millennia. One of the earliest ‘batteries’ found has been dated to around 250BC from Mesopotamian origin. Through the centuries other ‘batteries’ have been developed to meet the need of the era. 

Today, we depend on batteries to power our technology and keep our lifestyles mobile.  Lithium-ion batteries have provided that energy and endurance for almost 30 years. However, the biggest drawback of lithium-ion batteries is that they contain flammable electrolytes, which can cause explosions resulting in fire. In the 1990s, the danger was largely relegated to educating the public about battery storage and disposal. Yet, now, 20+ years later in a world with accelerating technological advancements, the danger of lithium-ion batteries can touch on our daily life – from exploding smartphones, to laptops and even electric vehicles. 

This is where graphene becomes relevant. Graphene is the thinnest, strongest and most flexible material known. It is 200 times stronger than steal, 97% transparent, extremely light in weight, flexible and stretchable. It’s non-flammable and highly conductive – and that makes graphene a great material for today’s battery needs. 

Awareness of graphene began in 1859, and the material has been studied theoretically since 1947. As technology as advanced, the single graphene layers were able to be observed directly by microscopy. Research into graphene exploded in the early 2000s.

Nanotech Energy owns the world’s first graphene patent, which was filed in May 2002 by Dr. Richard Kaner, Nanotech co-founder and UCLA professor of Chemistry and of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Kaner filed the patent two years prior to the notable graphene work of Nobel laureates Geim and Novoselov.

Batteries have become an essential, and often forgotten, tool we need to conduct our everyday lives. Compact and reliable, batteries power everything from home smoke detectors to smartphones to electric vehicles.  They produce energy in a compact and reliable way and we’ve all come to appreciate as convenient and safe. Yet, standard lithium-ion batteries are really not so safe. 

Inside lithium-ion batters is a thin and porous slip of polypropylene that keeps the electrodes from touching. If that separator is breached, the electrodes come in contact and get ‘explosively’ hot very quickly.  In graphene batteries, one of the electrodes is replaced with a hybrid composite material which includes graphene. If the electrodes come in contact there is no explosion. 

The concern regarding the dangers of lithium batteries is so great that the FAA has banned them as cargo on passenger planes. Carriers from the U.S. Postal Service to Federal Express do not want to put their employees in danger with the transport of such batteries.  Electric cars pose a similar threat, with some manufacturers facing class-action lawsuits due to explosions from their batteries. There are thousands of lithium batteries making up the electric vehicle’s battery pack. If all of these batteries ignite at the same time – something which has happened – the explosion is massive.  

To learn more, check out this video:

The closing of Series C funding dovetails with the creation and production of our high-performance, non-flammable batteries. The performance levels of this battery – the Nanotech Energy Graphene Super Battery – is far beyond any other type of mass-produced battery. Our battery safely delivers efficient and long-lasting battery power. 

And Daimler Mercedes agrees! In preparation for its graphene battery launch, Nanotech Energy has been working on the development of a high-performance, non-flammable battery for Daimler Mercedes hybrid and electric automobiles. 

Andreas Hintennach, Ph.D., and global head of battery research at Daimler AG stated: “Three years ago, we challenged Nanotech Energy to provide us with the safest non-flammable battery chemistry. Nanotech Energy exceeded our challenge. Now, for the first time, we have access to extremely safe chemistry that provides high performance for our hybrid vehicles. We are extraordinarily pleased.”

The Dangers of Lithium-Ion Batteries 

Currently, most batteries that industries commonly use are produced with lithium-ion, which is universally recognized as a dangerous and hazardous material. In devices and products with built-in lithium batteries, such as cellular phones, laptops and electric automobiles, pressure from parts surrounding the lithium batteries can cause damage to the wires around the batteries and lead to short circuiting. When lithium-ion batteries get shorted, the energy from the battery gets released suddenly, causing the temperature to rise hundreds of degrees within milliseconds – resulting in the battery catching fire. 

The Nanotech Energy Battery is manufactured in the United States with a shelf cost roughly the same as the leading lithium-ion versions; yet Nanotech batteries are ultimately less expensive, as they last much longer.  Within the next year, the Company is planning to release an environmentally friendly battery that can charge 18 times faster than anything that is currently available on the market.To view our complete press release, click here: https://nanotechenergy.com/press-release/

Today we are proud and pleased to announce that Nanotech Energy has concluded its $27.5 Million Series C Funding round. This round of participation/funding was expected to close at $25 million, yet included a “shoe” to allow for an additional $2.5 million for a total of $27.5 million invested. 

Jack Kavanaugh, our chairman and CEO commented:

“This round of funding – with such high-level and committed investors – offers testimony for a significant international market and need for our proprietary battery technology. We are confident that we have a one-of-a-kind, industry-changing product that will impact the technologies and bottom lines of multiple end-user markets. This round of funding allows us to dramatically expand our production of graphene and battery capacity, as well as our production of conductive epoxies, conductive inks and electromagnetic shielding.”

“Most industries and end users are confined to the technology of lithium batteries, from smartphone and laptop manufacturers to automotive manufacturers to the consumer at large.  They are limited to a battery technology that is well-known and documented to be dangerous – highly combustible and flammable. You have advanced and successful industries relying on a dangerous yet vital technology for decades.  Nanotech Energy now offers all of these industries a path toward a safe and more powerful battery technology – a game changer for them.”To view our complete press release, click here: https://nanotechenergy.com/press-release/