German battery technology manufacturer Theion’s innovation is based on sulphur — which as a by-product of industrial processes, is available in abundance without harmful mining, making it 99% cheaper to source than nickel and cobalt, Movemnt reports
According to Theion, its battery cells requires 90% less energy to produce, “from raw material to finished cell”.
Chief Executive Dr Ulrich Ehmes will lead the commercialisation of Theion’s lithium-sulphur cathode technology, which is targeting triple the range and usage time compared to conventional lithium-ion cells.
“I joined Theion because I am convinced that selecting the right battery active materials and processing these materials in a way that best leverages the material’s storage property, will disrupt the battery industry to another level.
“With 16 patents pending, our process innovations are scalable, and will bring a new dimension of mobility, range, usage time and sustainability.”
Theion’s patented production process extends battery life cycle by combining sulphur’s crystal material properties with carbon nanotubes and a proprietary solid electrolyte.
The company will be shipping material later this year, firstly to aerospace customers as part of the qualification stage, then aircraft, air taxis, drones, mobile phones and laptops before serving the electric flight and automotive sectors in 2024.
The company is backed by Team Global Chief Executive Lukasz Gadowski, a technology holding company investing in and starting frontier technology companies. Recent investments include Volocopter, Zapata and AutoFlight.
“At a time when industry demand for batteries is surging, but materials cost and sustainable sourcing are experiencing volatility, Theion’s breakthrough is ideally timed,” says principal investor Gadowski.
“Theion’s Crystal Battery is perfect for all mobility applications, while being massively sustainable, it will increase the driving range of electric cars, and the safe flight time of eVTOL applications and electric aircraft by a factor of three. When in full production, it has the potential to replace every battery in every mobility device on earth.”
