Altair Works on Nano-structured Materials

Altair Nanotechnologies is working on a development project entitled “Carbon-Coated Nano-Structured Electrodes for Next-Generation Lithium-Ion Ultra Capacitors.” The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant, initially for $100,000, provides the opportunity to receive an additional $500,000 Phase II grant which, if the development program is successful, leads to a Phase III commercialization.

Altair and Hosokawa Micron’s Nano Particle Technology Center produced the first advanced carbon coated materials for this program, which were tested under a contract with the Energy Storage Research Group at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Based on that work the final research testing protocol was determined. The Phase I grant work is scheduled for com-pletion this month.

Nano-structured electrodes, using Altair’s proprietary materials, combine the high-speed capabilities of capacitors with the energy storage features associated with batteries. The work is expected to lead to significant commercialization opportunities within the automotive industry for batteries using hybrid ultra capacitor/battery concepts and Altair’s electrode materials. The potential for commercializing these technologies was first reported by Altair in its November 2001 news release in which Dr. K.M. Abraham, an independent consultant, confirmed that Altair’s new nano-sized lithium titanate spinel could achieve lithium-ion charging and discharging rates 10 to 100 times higher than materials then available commercially.

This superior performance of Altair’s lithium titanate spinel in a prototype battery was first reported by Telcordia (now Rutgers University’s Energy Storage Research Group) in the Journal of Power Sources, published in March 2003. Telcordia’s new thin film hybrid battery/ultra capacitor technology used Altair’s advanced materials. This hybrid battery met the performance standards established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the power assist batteries required for cars of the future using fuel cells or hybrid internal combustion engines/battery drives.

The advancement in charging and discharging capabilities of Altair’s materials were published in the July 2003 issue of Journal of Electrochemistry through a joint collaboration with Altair, Switzerland-based Xoliox and Czechoslovakia-based J. Heyrovsky Institute. The report demonstrated that Altair’s nanomaterials could be fully charged in only a few seconds and that Dr. Abraham’s assessment proved to be correct. The Rutgers team utilized the technology in their unique prototype battery and is now participating in the current test work. Based upon the results of Rutgers’ prototype battery, Altair has taken the necessary steps to improve both its technology and its ability to supply commercial quantities of its nanomaterials to the marketplace.

For more information, visit www.altairnano.com.