Graphene Manufacturing Group CEO on hitting 1,000 cycles with six-minute charging

Yeah, so basically this is the fastest charging battery in the world. That's what it means. There's no other way to describe it. Um, we can charge now a battery in six minutes and get near 60 watt hours per kilogram.

Hello, you're watching Proactive. I'm joined by Graphene manufacturing Group managing director and CEO Craig Nicol. Craig, very good to speak with you. You've reached 1,000 cycles with no performance loss, charging in six minutes. How big a breakthrough is this?

Thanks uh for having us back on, Stephen. Uh look, we're very happy with these numbers. It's we're multiple times about close to 10 times uh longer life now than our competing technology out there that we've tested so far. And that is that is a a massive breakthrough. I really don't think there's another battery anything like this and and I see that in the way our potential customers respond to us. So we're very happy with where we are, clearly world leading, uh and the results speak for themselves.

Energy density is up 48% to 50 watt hours per kilogram, 94% energy efficiency. What does that mean in practical terms, Craig?

Yeah, so basically this is the fastest charging battery in the world. That's what it means. There's no other way to describe it. Um, we can charge now a battery in six minutes and get near 60 watt hours per kilogram and we're clearly not finished yet. We'll we'll we set out a target of 75 watt hours per kilogram earlier this year. We're nearly uh completed that target. Uh there's more to go. We know that there's more to go with our technology.

Uh what it means is we're starting to get close to some other other spaces where the battery could be used. You know, when you get to around 100 watt hours per kilogram in six minutes, you are changing the game on so many applications because 100 watt hours per kilogram like with no cooling and potentially plastic cases, you're getting close to what a lithium battery is if after being charged in in in a couple of hours.

Uh so you're you've got a massive differential way of thinking uh that can be opening up a world of many applications that simply people think for was never possible. on top of many things that go into diesel engine replacement batteries, uh grid batteries, uh because of the safety, uh house batteries. Uh then you've got train batteries, plane batteries more for takeoff than more for than than than long long uh long flights. Uh and and many others, fast charging communications. Uh there's many applications there. Um but the when you're starting to push into the 100s which, you know, we're not there yet, but if you if you can get there, if we can get there, we are absolutely in a different world and this technology will change many applications worldwide.

Your cells appear to outperform lithium titanate batteries on fast charge durability. What do you still need to prove?

Yeah, so excellent question. I mean, we're many times longer lasting uh than we're 10 times longer lasting than LTOs, there that's the current fast charging battery in the world. Uh we we've got a scale. That's what we need to prove. There's $6 billion roughly of LTOs sold a year. We now need to scale. Um we've got lots of companies who want to work with us and we're busy working on expanding that list of currently people who make our cells. Currently we're working with the BIC Indiana, but we'll add more to that.

And then as we as we grow that list of companies that make our cells, we'll start to grow our materials base that we can supply. Uh and that that's the process we intend to go over the next year.

You're now working on energy density, cycle life and larger cells. What are the next key milestones, Craig?

Yeah, so we aim to send out out to our customers. Uh, you know, so potential customers who've been waiting for some time, been very patient. Uh they know how hard it is to get a new tech to market within batteries. So it's been five years of work from scratch. So, you know, I think we'll we'll send it out to customers. We'll get their feedback. Uh we are still BTRL 4. Uh we're probably closer to BTRL 5 now once we've get the customer feedback and saying where we are, what what we have, you know, I think we'll start to be in BTRL 5. So BTRL 9 is full commercial gigawatt scale batteries. So five, six is scaling materials and six, seven or sorry, seven, eight is scaling cell production. So we aim to do 5, 6, 7, 8 all at the same time with a multiple different providers. Um, once that tech is there, which we're very close to locking that away, I think that's, you know, that's the next phase over the next year.

with Rio Tinto and the Battery Innovation Center on board. How close are you to commercialization and which markets look most promising?

Yeah, it's it's hard to say with such transformational technology, exactly which market's going to take it up far first. Defense market is big uh to have such a safe battery that's fast charging is always good in defense. Uh and they'll never need uh you know, never stop needing a new battery for different applications. And we have such peculiar battery parameters that I think they'll find things for it.

Uh the the diesel engine replacement market, which obviously isn't going too well as a as a as a lithium battery because of how long it takes to charge a lithium battery is is a is a is a is a is a massive market for us. Uh your potential and you know, I think that's, you know, probably where we'll see most of these uh go into. But there will be new applications, as with new every new battery technology in the past when it gets developed, new applications will come forward because people thought I could now use this, I can actually do this. I've always wanted to do it. I can't do it can't couldn't do it before, can do it now.

And and they will come out um with all the work. Uh but yeah, we we aim to be uh offering ourselves to many different companies, um and for testing and and for use so they can get to understand how this new technology because it's such a vastly different technology, they really need to see it to believe it. That's the next phase.

Craig, you're in Detroit or or Motown. What sorts of conversations are you having there?

Yeah, I think people are very surprised at the data uh to have such high energy efficiency, you know, 94% at such charging rate, with such long life and such high energy density at that charging rate. They are just really surprised. Um what, you know, mainly I'm talking to people about here is a is around how they could help us scale. You know, and there's over a thousand companies here uh that that that are that kind of a part of this uh massive battery show that um I'm here to talk to and I I aim to talk to as many as I can. Uh we have a complete value chain we got to build. We got to get suppliers uh and we've got to build assembly of our our batteries as well globally. And this is a great place to be for that.

Craig, I hope you're continue to keep us updated with your progress. Good luck at that good luck at that battery show.

Thank you, Stephen.

That's Craig Nicol, managing director and CEO of Graphene Manufacturing Group.