A coating developed by NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (NBM-X) enhances battery capacity to the highest level the company has achieved to date, offering a means to boost the driving range of electric vehicles (EVs) between charges.

Named NBMSiDE-P300, the coating is made of polymers and carbon materials, and applied on milled silicon, microscopic granules mixed with graphite powder that make up anodes used in battery cells. It is deposited atop two layers of other coatings, also made by the company, and the combination boosts the battery performance.

Depending on the quantity blended into graphite anodes, the P300 coating could increase an EV’s range by 20 to 30 per cent, Danny Huh, the company’s senior vice-president of strategy and operations, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

The Toronto-based silicon anode developer is sending samples of the P300 — which it tested in South Korea — to battery cell manufacturers and automakers for further examination and validation. This will help further the commercialization and technology development it will pursue in 2025.

NEO expects this year “that a lot of the commercialization activities as well as the partnerships will be arising,” Huh said.

“If we show good, reproducible results with full cells to the downstream manufacturers, they will be happy to help us commercialize our materials into larger-cell formats as well as applications.”

About P300

P300 is a mix of polymers, carbon nanotubes (which increase conductivity) and carbon materials applied atop P200 (an elastic polymer coating) and P100 (a silicon oxide layer). The various coatings enhance the performance of the milled silicon when it is made into a battery cell, Huh explained.

The latest addition, he said, can raise the anode capacity when blended with graphite, compared to an anode made entirely out of graphite.

A silicon-graphite anode with just under seven per cent silicon content increased capacity by 43 per cent, and required half as much material compared to the silicon anodes from its competitors, the company said. Up to 130 per cent greater capacity can be achieved with higher silicon content.

If the silicon content in an anode is raised to 17 per cent, Huh said EV driving range could be elevated by 20 to 30 per cent, possibly even higher.

One obstacle NEO’s milled silicon can overcome is the high cost of a silicon-anode battery, Huh said. Though the silicon anodes can greatly improve a lithium-ion battery’s range, the applications are limited today because of the high cost of silicon.

But the company’s milled silicon is cheaper and NEO’s manufacturing will be energy efficient and cost effective, potentially making it viable for more battery makers to use the silicon anodes.

“Because our materials are already so cheap,” Huh said, “we want to put this in all kinds of EV batteries, not just luxury.”

NEO’s potential markets: space and eVTOL

NEO is focused on the EV and electronics markets for P300. But the space and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft industries are additional sectors where the battery coating could assist in increasing battery capacity. To this end, the company plans to cooperate with more space and eVTOL companies.

eVTOL aircraft that can hover are reliant on batteries, Huh explained, and silicon anodes are the only short- to medium-term solution to increase the battery capacity.

The electronic equipment in space stations or spacecraft would be strong candidates for long-duration batteries; they could even end up in the robots that traverse Mars.

2025 a crucial year for NEO

This year will be important for NEO, Huh expects. The company began testing full cells, moving up from half cells, a few months ago as it inches closer to what is needed for full-scale battery manufacturing.

If the tests for full cells are reproducible, Huh expects NEO can attract downstream manufacturers to help commercialize larger-cell applications.

NEO will maintain efforts to improve battery performance and is looking to sign advanced agreements that cover joint development, offtake and strategic investments.

Huh said the commercialization of silicon anode materials will likely accelerate in the next two to three years, when companies like NEO are able to emerge from the startup phase. He believes the period "will be the most crucial for increasing the battery capacity or performance.”

The company has signed a non-binding letter of intent for a manufacturing facility that will produce silicon anodes to be used in lithium-ion batteries for EVs and electronics. It is expected to produce 5,000 tons of silicon anode capacity per year.