This advanced battery program is part of a broader graphene development strategy; Along with the new LIB’s, the Company will also focus on using its graphene for enhancing present day composite materials like concrete, rubber and plastic.
Zenyatta’s high-purity graphite was converted to graphene oxide by Dr. Aicheng Chen, Professor at Lakehead University. That material was then sent to an American advanced materials company where it was successfully used to create a silicon-graphene composite for testing as a new anode material in a next generation lithium-ion battery. While silicon has many times the capacity of the current graphite anode, it cannot be used alone due to rapid degradation. A significant amount of research has been invested to encapsulate silicon in a graphene oxide material to enhance the cycle life while also increasing charge capacity and durability for advanced lithium-ion batteries.