Sona to Acquire Idea One

Sona Development Corp. has completed a bridge loan of $500,000 to Idea One Inc., a research and development company that built the world’s first successful lab-tested magnesium rechargeable battery. The companies are drafting a definitive agreement to facilitate a merger by September 1.

Idea One, through its subsidiary Advanced Technology Upgrading Ltd. (ATU), has formed a partnership with Prof. Doron Aurbach of Israel’s Bar Ilan University. Together they have tested and patented the chemistry for rechargeable magnesium battery systems that can be recycled thousands of times with very low capacity fading.

Prof. Aurbach is best known for the primary role he played with Tadiran Batteries Ltd. of Israel in the development and first commercial use of the lithium battery.

Laboratory tests have verified that the magnesium battery can be recharged more than 3,000 times and produce up to 1.1 to 1.3 volts per a single cell, with energy density comparable to existing systems. The battery’s overall performance has been independently verified by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The magnesium battery could be commercially available in less than a year for applications such as uninterruptible electric power for computer networks, electricity storage for power generation plants and utilities, electric vehicles, and portable powered devices.

Idea One anticipates that with additional research, the energy density of rechargeable magnesium batteries can be increased by 50%, and that magnesium batteries could be developed with working potentials higher than 1.5V and a theoretical energy density higher than 200 Wh/Kg, making them ideal for use as an electric vehicle battery. One of Israel’s largest battery manufacturers has agreed to collaborate with the team at Bar Ilan on the upscaling of the magnesium battery technology.