Li-S claims a monster improvement in battery technology
Shares in Brisbane battery company Li-S Energy soared as high as 58 per cent on Tuesday morning after it announced it had made a major breakthrough in its development of a lightweight alternative to dominant lithium-ion alternative.
Li-S chief executive Lee Finniear
The company said its testing of its lithium sulphur batteries in Melbourne showed a 45 per cent increase in energy density over its previous generation 2 product. It is now the equivalent of a very good lithium-ion battery but at half the weight, the company said.
Chief executive Lee Finniear said it had also showed improved safety through the use of a low-flammable electrolyte, which helps counter the heat and fire problems associated with lithium batteries which not only burn for a long time but are difficult to put out.
“It’s a significantly lower level. What we have done is inherently improved the safety because even if there was something that happened the electrolyte doesn’t burn very well,” he said.
He said in terms of its energy density the company, which is in a joint venture with Deakin University, they had cropped its thickness of its cells from 12.7mm to just over 6mm, an improvement Finniear said was tremendous.
“What that means is that when you stack them all in a module, the module is much much smaller and from the weight point of view it’s half the weight of lithium-ion,” he said.
“If you are trying to put a battery in an aircraft or car or drone not only does it have to be lightweight but it also has to fit. So that was a real breakthrough. Dropping the volume by 45 per cent is a monster change.
“Lithium-ion has been trying to do this for a long time and it generally does a 3 to 5 per cent improvement a year across the industry and we have been able to change lithium sulphur by 45 per cent in six months.
“The development of these new battery cells is another validation of the strength of our scientific and technical teams and our collaboration with Deakin University and other Australian and international institutions.
“This outcome demonstrates the strength of our progress over the last year. In coming months we look forward to commencing the production of commercial samples for our partners.”
Li-S Energy shares were trading at 50 cents on Tuesday morning after the announcement before falling back mid morning, but still 38 per cent higher. Its parent company, PPK, was up 9 per cent after the announcement but fell back to be down 3 per cent by midday.
