Overview. What Has Next Metals Achieved?

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1 1 What Has Next Metals Achieved? It took a while for lithium ion batteries to gain popularity since their introduction in the 1970s, but once people caught on to how little lithium-ion batteries weighed in comparison to lead acid competition, they were sold. Lithium is the lightest of metals, and has the greatest electrochemical potential. Basically, this means that per kilo, lithium ion batteries achieve a significantly higher energy density than lead batteries. Lithium-ion batteries also have a significantly higher cycle life than lead acid batteries do in deep discharge applications. This means that lithium-ion batteries can support a higher number of complete charge/discharge cycles before their capacity falls under 80%. Recent data shows that a lead acid battery would have to be 2.5 times larger in capacity than a lithium-ion battery to get comparable cycle life. The difference in cycle life is even greater in extreme climates. In warm climates where the temperature hovers around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the difference in cycle life between lithium-ion solar batteries and lead acid batteries is huge. In these extreme temperatures, it takes less than 1000 charge/discharge cycles for lead acid batteries to drop below 80% in retention, while lithium-ion batteries wouldn t see that much of a drop until at least 2000 cycles. This also means that lithium-ion batteries won t require replacement nearly as quickly as lead acid batteries. After charging and discharging a lithium-ion battery thousands of times, it remains highly functional. Lead acid batteries decline much more quickly. Lithium-ion batteries are also virtually maintenance-free. Overview

2 2 What Has Next-Battery Achieved? The future is here and the future is electric. Next-Battery have developed a propriety technology that has the potential to revolutionise the global lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry by producing a battery that provides twice the energy density of the new most powerful 2170 batteries currently available from Tesla and Panasonic. This should provide the ability for a top of the range electric car to extend it s driveable range from the current 515 kilometers (320 miles) to 1,030 kilometers (640 miles) before requiring recharging. Achieving a doubling of battery power from the same sized units is a game changing step forward when it comes to both automotive and wider battery technology. With batteries that have twice the energy density of existing competitors, new concepts such as electric planes move a significant step closer to becoming a reality and it will become possible to move on from the pan-continental reliance on fossil fuels for global transport and significantly reduce both carbon emissions and noise pollution. The diagram below of Next-Battery s improved cathode and anode shows graphically how its unique nano-structure allows more lithium ions (Li+) to be neatly packed into the electrodes, since they have to move back and forth between the cathode and anode during the discharge and charge actions.

3 3 How batteries work A short explanation of a lithium-ion battery is that they are made of two electrodes a cathode (positive) and the anode (negative) and an electrolyte through which the electric charge flows as the lithium ions and the electrons move between the cathode and anode when the battery charges and discharges. The diagram below shows that conventional cathodes use compressed powders of various metals oxides in a less structured form to accept the Li+ ions.

4 4 Lithium Ion Batteries Lithium-ion batteries are remarkable because the same fundamental technology can be used in many different applications: medical devices, cell phones, computers, power tools, drones, hybrid and all-electric cars, buses, ferries, airplanes, and microgrid or home-based energy storage. To accommodate these different applications, lithium-ion cells vary in size and shape. A single prismatic cell can be used in a battery in a smartphone, while 4,400 cylindrical cells (similar to AA batteries, but larger) are wired together to make up the 85 kwh battery pack in a Tesla Model S car. When assessing the suitability of a particular battery type for specific use there are ten major properties worth looking at 2 : 1 2 HIGH SPECIFIC ENERGY Specific energy is the total amount of energy stored by a battery per kilogram. The more energy it can store the longer it can run. HIGH SPECIFIC POWER Specific power is the amount of load current drawn from the battery. Without high specific power a battery cannot be used for high-drain activities such as electric vehicles. 3 4 AFFORDABLE COST If the price of a battery is too expensive, industry will use an alternative fuels source or battery configuration LONG LIFE Batteries only last for a finite number of charge-discharge cycles. If this number is too low then the battery is not practical for industrial use. 5 6 HIGH SAFETY Batteries safety is an important consideration both for consumer and industry users. WIDE OPERATING RANGE Some batteries do not work well in cold or hot temperatures. The most useful batteries operate as normal in a wide range of temperature variants. 7 8 LACK OF TOXICITY Commercial batteries must meet stringent standards in relation to toxic environmental implications. FAST CHARGING Speed of charging makes practical battery use possible. If a battery is too slow to charge it will have no use in the real world LOW SELF-DISCHARGE All batteries discharge a small amount of their power when left alone. If this loss-level is too great then it makes a negative impact on the practical usability of the battery. LONG SHELF LIFE For practical considerations it is important that batteries can continue to be used for many years after being manufactured and not lose their power while waiting to be

5 5 The advantage of lithium ion batteries It took a while for lithium ion batteries to gain popularity since their introduction in the 1970s, but once people caught on to how little lithium-ion batteries weighed in comparison to lead acid competition, they were sold. Lithium is the lightest of metals, and has the greatest electrochemical potential. Basically, this means that per kilo, lithium ion batteries achieve a significantly higher energy density than lead batteries. Lithium-ion batteries also have a significantly higher cycle life than lead acid batteries do in deep discharge applications. This means that lithium-ion batteries can support a higher number of complete charge/discharge cycles before their capacity falls under 80%. Recent data shows that a lead acid battery would have to be 2.5 times larger in capacity than a lithium-ion battery to get comparable cycle life. The difference in cycle life is even greater in extreme climates. In warm climates where the temperature hovers around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the difference in cycle life between lithium-ion batteries and lead acid batteries is huge. In these extreme temperatures, it takes less than 1000 charge/discharge cycles for lead acid batteries to drop below 80% in retention, while lithium-ion batteries wouldn t see that much of a drop until at least 2000 cycles. This also means that lithium-ion batteries won t require replacement nearly as quickly as lead acid batteries. After charging and discharging a lithium-ion battery thousands of times, it remains highly functional. Lead acid batteries decline much more quickly. Lithium-ion batteries are also virtually maintenance-free. Lithium ion batteries can be used in both home and commercial storage setups for renewable energies with battery storage available in capacities up to megawatt-class power stations 3 Lithium-ion battery is lighter than other rechargeable batteries in consideration of battery capacity. This makes it more practical in portable consumer electronic devices in which physical specifications such as weight and form factor are considered important selling points. Quick charging: Lithium-ion battery is quicker to charge than other rechargeable batteries. It actually takes a fraction of a time to charge when compared to counterparts. lithium ion batteries The rate of self-discharge (energy leakage) in lithium-ion batteries is much lower than that in other rechargeable battery cells such as Ni-Cad and NiMH forms. Longer lifespan: Lithium-ion battery can typically handle hundreds of charge-discharge cycles. Some lithium ion batteries lose 30 percent of their capacity after 1000 cycles while more advanced lithium ion batteries still have better capacity after 5000 cycles.

6 6 Global Lithium Ion Battery Market Size Today, over one billion rechargeable lithium-ion battery cells are produced each year for the consumer electronics market alone. And it is our love affair with electronic gadgets that has led to up-scaled production, economies of scale, and a close to threefold decrease in lithium-ion battery cell cost in the past five years from about $400/kWh to $150/kWh 4. Lithium ion batteries are estimated to make up 70% of the total rechargeable battery market by 2025 with 19.2% being made up of traditional lead-acid batteries, 6% of flow batteries, 3.9% of sodium-based batteries and 0.2% nickel-based batteries 5. The value of this market by 2025 is expected to be $112 billion per annum. The global lithium-ion battery market size was valued at USD 22.8 billion in The consumer electronics application section held the largest market share for lithium ion batteries in this year 6 however, this sector was closely followed by increasing demand for grid storage and electric vehicle usage as lithium-ion offers lightweight and high-energy density solutions 7. In 2017 the market size increased by $7 billion to $29.86 billion annually and it s growth is expected to continue with forecasts that it will reach $ billion annually by Bloomberg reports that that global battery-making capacity is set to more than double by 2021, topping 278 gigawatt-hours a year compared to 103 gigawatt-hours at present 9. The market sectors that have come to rely on lithium ion batteries are incredibly wide and varied: Laptops & Tablets Smartphones Power Tools Storage of renewable energies Electric Vehicles

7 7 Laptops & Tablets In 2018 there are forecast to be more than 310 million new laptops and tablets sold globally 10, the vast majority of which are powered by a lithium ion battery. The tablet section alone is forecast to have a market size of $130 billion by Smartphones In billion people are predicted to own a smartphone 12 - over 36% of the global population. By 2020 this amount is predicted to increase to 2.87 billion (38.56% of the global population). Each and every smartphone produced is powered by a lithium ion battery. Power Tools The value of the global power tools market was worth US$ Bn in 2015, and the value of the batteries used in them exceeded $1 billion at this time. It is expected that the market will reach a valuation of US$ billion by and the value of the batteries alone will be nearly $2 billion. Storage of renewable energy The global energy storage market will double six times from now to 2030, to more than 300 gigawatt-hours and 125 gigawatts of capacity by the end of the next decade. An estimated $103 billion will be invested in energy storage over that time period 14. Bloomberg New Energy Finance have announced that they see utility-scale battery storage systems falling in cost from $700 per kilowatt hour in 2016 to less than $300 per kilowatt hour in 2030 as they benefit from investment into the mass manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

8 8 Electric Vehicles The cost of lithium ion automotive batteries has reduced from $1200 per kwh in 2008, to $190 per KWh in 2016 with an overall goal of reaching $100 per KWh in the near future 18. There are forecast to be 1,900,000 plug-in electric vehicles sold globally in as compared to less than 60,000 in the US in 2015, and the market size for lithium-ion batteries in automobiles alone is estimated to be $7.745 billion 20 in This has been predicted to increase to $240 billion per annum by Dutch bank, ING, predicts that all new vehicle sales in Europe will be electric by and to give an idea of what kind of impact this would have on the market it is worth pointing out that the European automotive industry manufactures 19.2 million cars, vans trucks and buses per year, employing 5.7% of the EU workforce and turning over 6.8% of EU GDP 23 (approx. $1.2 trillion per annum). By 2040 it is predicted that electric vehicles will be pulling in more than 1,900 TWh of electricity from global electrical grids per year. This is enough energy to power the whole of the USA for 160 days 24 at today s usage.

9 9 The drawbacks of lithium-ion batteries in powering vehicles The drawbacks to all battery power is the fact that compared to traditional fuel sources, batteries distribute very little power compared to their weight (energy density). Even the most efficient and highest capacity lithium-ion battery currently in production, the Tesla/Panasonic 2170 is very inefficient compared to fossil fuels. The energy density put out by gasoline and different battery types can be seen below: Petrol 45MJ/kg 12,000 Wh/kg Tesla 2170 battery 1.2M J/kg 322 Wh/kg Next-Battery battery 2.4M J/kg 644 Wh/kg Essentially the specific energy density of Tesla s 2170 battery is only 2.7% of that of liquid fuel. However, while the fuel energy density is a key component of machine power, so is the efficiency of the energy usage and it is here that electrical energy itself offers some very significant advantages because electrical engines are much more efficient than traditional internal combustion engines.

10 10 How much more efficient are electrical engines than fossil fuel engines? Specific energy equivalence asks, If I can get a certain amount of work done with this fuel, how much of that fuel do I need to do the same work? In order to answer this question we cannot only look at the specific energy density of a battery compared to gasoline but we have to also look at the delivery mechanisms that allow them both to power drivestrains. Battery Electric Internal Combustion Engine Electric motors generate motion, not heat. A fossil-fuel engine produces motion with tiny controlled explosions which push interlocking pieces of metal, which connect to a driveshaft. The rubbing together of this metal generates a lot of heat, which is wasted energy that could otherwise be used to push the vehicle forward. In contrast, with an electric motor, there is no contact between the motor and the vehicle s drive shaft as there is an air gap between them. Instead of being pushed mechanically, the driveshaft is pushed magnetically so there is very little heat waste even a running electrical motor is barely warm to the touch. In short, electrical engines are about 90% energy efficient while combustion engines are only 30-40% efficient. This means that while petrol or diesel engines convert a maximum of 35 % of this energy into driving force, an electric car reaches 90 % and more.

11 11 The Price Factor In terms of real-world usage we also have to consider the price of running an electric engine as opposed to an internal combustion engine. The battery size in an electric car is the rough equivalent, practically speaking, of the fuel tank size of a petrol/diesel car. By working out how much it costs to fill either, and then dividing this number by how many miles you expect to get out of the tank, you can figure out an average cost per mile. Electric car Battery capacity x cost per unit of electricity = cost of a full charge Cost of charging range = cost per mile Petrol car Fuel tank capacity x cost per unit of petrol = cost of a full tank Cost of fueling range/fuel efficiency = cost per mile THE RESULTS In a comparison of two similarly-sized cars: a Renault Clio Expression 1.2 and a Renault Zoe Expression Nav (the cheapest of each model). The real-world range for the electric car is given, rather than the specified max. range at full efficiency. Renault Zoe (Electric) vs Renault Clio (Petrol) Tank/battery capacity 41kWh 45L Cost per unit of fuel 12p 1.19 Total cost of charging/fuelling Range (miles) Cost per mile 2.6p 9.4p The cost of running the electric car is only 27% of the cost of running the petrol car.

12 12 Overall Comparison In conclusion, an electric engine is almost three times as efficient as a combustion engine but petrol generates approximately 40 times more energy per kg than Tesla s current best battery pack therefore making petrol engines roughly twelve times as efficient as electrical engines at this point in time. 12 times more efficient Effectively the Tesla 2170 battery has a power output when in-car of 322Wh/kg while petrol has a power output when in car of 4,000Wh/kg. which means that petrol with an internal combustion engine is currently 12 times more efficient than an electric car with a Tesla 2170 battery. In operational terms, the cost of running the electric car is almost four times as cheap as running the petrol car but the purchase price of the electrical car is nearly twice that of the petrol vehicle. Once we reach a stage that the cost of production of the electric car (currently 22,220) and the petrol car (currently 12,635) evens out and the energy density of battery cells increases then the age of fossil fuels will finally come to an end. $ $ 4 times cheaper

13 13 What have Next-Battery achieved? Next-Battery have achieved laboratory results that show that our revolutionary method of cathode manufacturing will be able to produce batteries with twice the energy density of the Tesla/Panasonic 2170 batteries currently the best existing lithium ion batteries currently in production. This has also been done at no extra cost in the manufacturing process. How have Next-Battery achieved such a major technological breakthrough? Next-Battery have managed to revolutionise battery manufacture by concentrating on improving the cathode section of the lithium-ion battery and approaching manufacture in a completely different way from all of our competitors. While others have been looking at battery development as being a chemistry problem we have approached it from a physics standpoint and looked at manufacturing the batteries using semi-conductor technologies. The prototype batteries are manufactured in a special laboratory in the Ukraine using certain novel technologies. The manufacturing process is very efficient and the production equipment should be able to manufacture at similar rates to the best systems in operation today. The new methods of cathode manufacture has resulted in products that in laboratory testing have already produced results showing a specific energy output of twice the Tesla 2170 battery for the same size battery (twice the energy density). When put together as a full collection of 4,400 cells this would provide enough power to allow an electric car to travel 640 miles without recharging on a collection of batteries the same weight and size as the current Tesla batteries. The process has allowed us to develop the batteries more effectively and just as importantly at a cheaper price per unit of specific energy than any of our rivals.

14 14 How does Next-Battery plan to commercialise it s technology? Next-Battery plans to commercialise it s technology through the form of licensing it and are currently in the process of protecting our unique technology through the means of international patents. Given that the global market for lithium-ion batteries is estimated to be worth well over $300 billion per annum within the next 20 years then the revenue potential of even a 1% license fee would be extraordinarily lucrative both in the short and the long term. $300 Billion per annum market

15 15 Why will this change the global lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry? The existence of a battery cell that has twice the power density of all existing competitors will have a very significant impact of the battery manufacturing industry worldwide. Mobile phones and laptops will hold twice the energy that they currently do and will only need to be recharged half as often. Energy storage facilities will dramatically increase in capacity. Electric cars will be able to double their range and this in turn will make a significant impact on their saleability simply put, the further electric cars run on a single charge, the more of them will be sold. The increase in charge density also makes it possible for electricity to power different types of transport where it has previously been unfeasible to use electricity over any significant distance. Planes are a good example of this. When every kg of weight counts then the ability of batteries to deliver twice the density of power to weight ratios than their rivals can make the difference between an aviation route being practical or impractical. Commercial electric planes will start to become practical for short haul flights. When an electric car can run 640 miles on a single charge compared to approximately 400 miles for a petrol car on a full tank and can do all of this at almost a quarter of the cost of the petrol car then it becomes a very compelling proposition.

16 16 Why will this change the global lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry? The energy density put out by gasoline and different battery types can be seen below: Petrol 45M J/kg 12,000 Wh/kg Tesla 2170 battery 1.2M J/kg 322 Wh/kg Next-Battery battery 2.4M J/kg 644 Wh/kg When you consider that the electric engine is three time as efficient as an internal combustion engine then this comparison can be updated to read: Petrol 45M J/kg 4,000 Wh/kg Tesla 2170 battery 1.2M J/kg 322 Wh/kg Next-Battery battery 2.4M J/kg 644 Wh/kg This means that the internal combustion engine now only delivers an overall energy performance of six times the power performance of an electric engine using the Next-Battery improved battery. Next-Battery are also working on an even more improved version of the Tesla 2170 battery where we hope to in the near future be able to deliver a performance that is ten times the power density of the Tesla Petrol 45M J/kg 4,000 Wh/kg Tesla 2170 battery 1.2M J/kg 322 Wh/kg Next-Battery battery mk1 2.4M J/kg 644 Wh/kg Next-Battery battery mk2 2.4M J/kg 3,220 Wh/kg This means that the internal combustion engine now only delivers an overall energy performance of 24% greater than a battery powered electric drivetrain. At this point, any vehicle that can be powered by petrol will also be able to be powered by battery including electric aircraft. Considering the price of electricity is only 27% of the price of aviation fuel the cost savings for airlines running multiple flights will potentially be very significant.

17 17 References 1. hybrid-a html WzeIvKdKiUk Worth-over-USD Bn-by-2022.html more#gs.kaxfkss

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