In the fight against climate change, battery technology is critical as the world turns to electrification to drive decarbonization. But rising demand is drawing attention to the limitations and shortcomings of the current generation of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology. This is where Morion, a spin-out company from the University of Cambridge, wants to get involved. The British startup is developing next-generation lithium-sulfur (Li-S) technology.
Li-S batteries offer the advantage of higher energy density and supply chain resilience compared to lithium-ion batteries due to their higher sulfur content, and are expected to perform much better. Some minerals essential to lithium-ion batteries are difficult to obtain.
“Current batteries, like those in mobile phones, laptops, and electric cars, are not enough,” argues Dr. Ismail Sami, CEO and co-founder of Molyon (pictured above, left, co-founder Dr. Zhuangnan Li). “They are expensive, contain important rare substances like cobalt, and don’t perform well.”
“People may have to charge their phones multiple times a day, and range anxiety continues to play a role when people consider purchasing an electric vehicle. And the performance of lithium-ion batteries has truly reached the “glass ceiling.” And to do more and move towards net zero, we need the next generation, a step change in performance. ”
Excitement has long been building about the potential performance of Li-S batteries, which were actually invented in the 1960s. However, commercialization has stumbled because sulfur reacts within the battery, ultimately accelerating cell degradation. This means that these high-energy batteries historically run out quickly. And who wants a great battery that only lasts a few charge cycles?
But now Morillon believes it has found the answer to making Li-S batteries stable for “hundreds of cycles” by using a new material in the cathode that Sami claims works “incredibly well.” . The development is expected to unlock the transformative potential of Li-S at commercial scale, provided the team can translate breakthroughs in the lab into real-world technology.
The startup was founded in February this year, building on around 15 years of research at the University of Cambridge's School of Materials Science. The research, conducted by the Materials Science Department's Chowara Group (named after Professor Manish Chowara), yields a material called molybdenum metal disulfide (also known as MoS2), which Morion hopes to commercialize over the next few years. It's planned.
Another benefit of this material, Sami noted, is that MoS2 is “naturally abundant” and “occurs all over the world, including the United States, China, and Australia.” Batteries using this material are There are so many challenges in the supply chain that suggest it cannot be used.
Since MoS2 naturally occurs as a semiconductor, he explains, a key part of the startup process involves turning MoS2 into a metal, making it conductive. Conductive MoS2 is then used as an additive to the cathode (i.e., the battery's positive terminal) to produce a stable lithium-sulfur battery that can be charged over many cycles.
Other attempts to commercialize Li-S batteries have typically used carbon as an additive, Sami said. On the other hand, he claims that Molyon is doing something “fundamentally” new and different compared to previous attempts (or current competitors).
The startup has patented the use of MoS2 in Li-S batteries, giving it protection against this approach as well.
“What we're actually doing with this material is that the sulfur does its job and reacts with the lithium, releasing its energy and keeping it from dissolving in the electrolyte. So this molybdenum disulfide , we discovered that it is an additive that solves the important problem of sulfur dissolution into batteries,” he told TechCrunch.
“What we have shown is that carbon is not a very good additive,” Sami added. “It doesn't have the special properties needed to prevent sulfur from dissolving in the electrolyte and make a long-lasting battery… [W]We truly discovered breakthroughs and step changes at the materials level that had not been demonstrated before. ”
double your energy
In an early prototype of a Li-S cell, similar in size to batteries found in mobile phones, the team was able to demonstrate twice the energy of lithium-ion batteries, he says. When the co-founders saw the results they were getting, they quickly decided to spin out the company and, in Sami's words, “give it a go.”
Molyon announces a $4.6 million seed round co-led by European deep tech and early stage investors IQ Capital and Plural to build a prototype Li -We are working towards building a pilot production facility that can produce S batteries.
“This initial funding will enable us to start and build a pilot facility in Cambridge,” Sami said. “Our focus with this capital is to scale up the materials, scale up the cathode. The cathode is really our source, our secret sauce, and our breakthrough in lithium-sulfur batteries. So we developed our business and at the same time.
“We need to demonstrate the actual battery and demonstrate its performance,” he added. “We will focus on materials and scale-up, and also demonstrate practical real-world batteries.”
Sami is not interested in predicting how long it will take the team to reach the production stage of a commercial prototype, instead focusing on bringing the Li-S technology to market “as soon as possible.” I just said that it is.
Molyon has also said it wants to provide a “technology platform” to the market and is open to licensing its innovations in the future, although it has not fully decided what its business model will look like. It suggests that there is a possibility.
One of the early focuses to demonstrate applications for prototype Li-S batteries will be drones and robots.
When asked why they chose these use cases, Sami emphasized that lightweight Li-S cells can really shine in mobility use cases where weight impacts performance. They also hope this technology will help extend the range of electric cars in the future as well.
“Lithium sulfur battery” [are] “They have an incredibly high energy per weight, which makes them very useful for many applications, including things that move and things that fly,” he said, citing transport, mobility and “mobile robots” as particularly interesting application areas. I am listing it.
“In the field of drones, being able to fly longer and farther is a clear advantage,” he adds. “As such, this market is an early adopter of lithium-sulfur batteries as it provides significant performance improvements to drones and allows them to do more with our batteries than the batteries currently on the market. I think there is.”
Given these types of use cases, TechCrunch suggests the defense industry could be a future customer for Molyon's technology.
“That could potentially be an interesting application and potential customer,” Sami answered, a little half-heartedly. “However, we are still in the early stages of our efforts. We are focused on cathodes and batteries, and looking at potential applications and customers in the future.”
“I think these batteries have the potential to be used in many applications where range, or distance, is important. We are determining where batteries can make that difference,” he added.
Commenting on the funding in a statement of support, Plural partner Karina Nami said: That could challenge traditional suppliers. ”
Max Bautin, general partner at IQ Capital, added: “Molyon has made a breakthrough discovery in materials science that will revolutionize the energy density of batteries and open up a huge market. We are already demonstrating the passion and experience of the Molyon team and the potential of the technology. We are very impressed with the maturity of Molyon and are pleased to be supporting them at this exciting point in their business as they scale up from their first pilot facility.”