DOE selects Planar Energy for Oak Ridge National Lab collaborative R&D program

ORLANDO, USA: Planar Energy, the developer of large-format, solid-state, ceramic-like batteries at half the cost and triple the performance of lithium-ion batteries, is one of four companies selected through a competitive-solicitation process to collaborate in a U.S. Department of Energy research-and-development initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to address energy-storage challenges presented by lithium-based batteries.

“This program allocates $400,000 to help advance the commercialization of our breakthrough solid-state battery technology,” said Scott Faris, Planar Energy’s president and CEO, who said the company’s energy cells and batteries “are substantially smaller, cheaper and safer, and can deliver more power than any existing rechargeable chemical battery technology.”

Faris noted that last month University of Central Florida researchers independently confirmed that the company’s new generation of solid-state electrolytes have ionic conductivity metrics comparable to liquid electrolytes used in traditional chemical batteries, and that novel cathode and anode materials have been developed that work in conjunction with Planar Energy’s electrolyte, further improving overall energy density.

“That fundamental materials breakthrough coupled with Planar Energy’s proprietary low-cost manufacturing process will allow solid-state battery fabrication that will enable manufacturers to increase their capacity by 200-to-300 percent, while reducing costs more than 50 percent,” he said.

“Access to the tremendous talent and capabilities at ORNL will allow us to accelerate our technology- and product-development roadmap, spurring the transition from chemical batteries to all solid-state batteries that exceed the performance and cost requirements required to make electric vehicles a practical option for consumers and a profitable product for the automotive industry,” Faris continued.

Funding for the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Industrial Technologies Program and EERE’s Vehicle Technologies Program, along with in-kind matching contributions from the four participating companies. The companies responded to an industry proposal and were chosen by an independent council comprising ORNL and DOE representatives. Accordingly, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is also providing funding to ORNL’s overall battery research effort to help ensure success of the industry.

The collaborative research activities at ORNL, which is managed by UT-Battelle for the DOE, began in February and will continue for an 18-month period.