GUELPH, ON / ACCESSWIRE / Oct 28, 2022 / Zentek Ltd. (“Zentek” or the “Organization“) (NASDAQ:ZTEK)(TSXV:ZEN), an intellectual house development and commercialization organization, announces the commencement of a 4-calendar year, $1.6M exploration venture in collaboration with Professors Mohini Sain and Ning Yan from the College of Toronto (“U of T”) and Ford Powertrain Engineering Analysis and Progress Centre (“PERDC”). Funding for the undertaking features $1.2M from the Mitacs Accelerate plan. Prof. Sain is the Endowed Ford Motor Canada Chair in Sustainable Resources exactly where he is lively in the discipline of light electricity storage which include cell chemistry and renewable fuel battery development at PERDC, and Prof. Yan is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Bioproducts. Collaborating with the PERDC and testing at this facility is crucial to reveal battery improvements at a scale suited for the automotive marketplace.
“The Canadian federal government and the automobile marketplace have dedicated to commit more than $10 billion in battery manufacturing in 2022 on your own. With the significant press towards electrification in North The usa, we are excited to be doing work with the staff from U of T, who have labored with a range of worldwide battery producing providers,” mentioned Greg Fenton, CEO of Zentek. “This is an important investigation project to search for to produce next generation graphene-based battery products to likely improve electricity density, enhance charging costs and increase battery safety.”
The project seeks to check novel principles for the purpose of inventing multifunctional products to be used in automotive battery factors such as anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator. Zentek will be working in tandem with U of T researchers offering and screening sophisticated graphene components including Zentek’s patent-pending anode content formulated by Dr. Michael Pope (see Zentek’s push launch dated February 18, 2022).
Update from Dr. Michael Pope’s Group at the University of Waterloo
Additional to Zentek’s press releases dated November 22, 2018 and February 18, 2022, Zentek has been collaborating with Dr. Michael Pope at the University of Waterloo for the very last 3 many years, building battery engineering to boost anode functionality.
One particular really studied space for lithium-ion battery (LIB) progress is to increase the anode material. At the moment electric powered vehicle anodes are composed of graphite, which has a minimal theoretical precise ability of ~372 mAhg-1. Silicon (Si) has captivated considerable awareness as a replacement product, mostly owing to its substantial precise ability of 4,200 mAhg-1, but also because of to its lower functioning probable, minimal selling price and the availability of silicon. On the other hand, the industrialization of silicon anodes is hindered by an important engineering roadblock: silicon has an great volumetric fluctuation (bigger than 300% in all dimensions) when charging and discharging. This aspect is the root cause at the rear of a few main difficulties:
- Inadequate cycle life span owing to self-pulverization of the anode.
- Irreversible capability decline and very low coulombic efficiency.
- Destruction and reformation of the sound-electrolyte interface, which consumes electrolyte and leads to thickening and very poor ionic mobility.
Using silicon in the anode material, Dr. Pope has tackled these challenges, and has established a patent-pending graphene wrapped silicon anode substance.
Key traits of graphene-wrapped silicon anode, as introduced in February 2022 incorporate:
- At functional mass loading of 2.5mg/cm2, the electrode attained 2.04 mAh/cm2 and retained 79% of this capacity after 200 cycles towards a lithium 50 percent-mobile.
- When paired with a professional lithium iron phosphate cathode, the completely assembled battery retained 93.3% of its preliminary capability around 100 cycles.
- Operates with present lithium-ion batteries as a replacement for graphite1.
Considering that April, Dr. Pope’s staff has optimized the anode materials, which now has a precise ability of above 1,000 mAh/g and retains around 80% of its ability around 320 demand-discharge cycles. The unique ability of this material is a major improvement above typical graphite anodes even so, the cycle life nonetheless needs advancement compared to normal electrical motor vehicle batteries, which shed about 4% potential about 1,000 cost-discharge cycles. Zentek and Dr. Pope’s crew will carry on to develop this technology with the target of improving upon performance to meet up with field necessities. Recently optimized chemistries are achieving precise capacities as higher as 1,500 mAh/g, an around 400% advancement more than graphite anodes. This significant enhancement in vitality density is complemented by spectacular cycle balance. These performance exams ended up completed less than accelerated protocols and will need to be confirmed in conventional tests.
Zentek submitted a patent application beneath the Patent Cooperation Treaty on Could17th, 2022.
About Zentek Ltd.
Zentek is an IP enhancement and commercialization firm focused on the study, enhancement and commercialization of novel items working with graphene and nanomaterials for use in the healthcare field and outside of.
Zentek’s proprietary ZenGUARD™ coating is patent-pending and shown to have 99% antimicrobial action, together with versus COVID-19, for use in PPE and possibly HVAC techniques and other industries. Zentek’s ZenGUARD™ production facility is positioned in Guelph, Ontario.
For further data:
Ryan Shacklock
Tel: (306) 270-9610
Email: [email protected]
To obtain out additional about Zentek Ltd., you should check out our internet site at www.Zentek.com. A duplicate of this news launch and all material documents in regard of the Company could be attained on ZEN’s SEDAR profile at http://www.sedar.com/.
Forward-Hunting Statements
This information launch incorporates forward-on the lookout statements. Considering that ahead-on the lookout statements deal with long run occasions and problems, by their pretty mother nature they require inherent hazards and uncertainties. Whilst Zentek believes that the assumptions and things applied in getting ready the forward-searching data in this news release are acceptable, undue reliance should really not be positioned on such details, which only applies as of the day of this news launch, and no assurance can be offered that these types of situations will arise in the disclosed time frames or at all. Zentek disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-seeking facts, regardless of whether as a outcome of new details, long term occasions or if not, other than as demanded by legislation.
Neither the TSX Undertaking Trade nor its Regulation Services Supplier (as that term is defined in the guidelines of the TSX Enterprise Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or precision of this release.
Source: Zentek Ltd.
