Overview
NEO Battery Supplies Ltd. (TSXV:NBM; OTCQB: NBMFF) is a Canada-based battery expertise firm centered on creating silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries utilized in electrical autos (EV), electronics and power storage techniques.The corporate’s patented silicon anode expertise, referred to as NBMSiDE®, makes use of an energy-efficient, one-step nano coating course of to i) allow ultra-fast charging, ii) improve EV driving vary by larger than 20 %, and iii) manufacture greater than 70 % cheaper in comparison with rivals. NBMSiDE® coats sturdy, sturdy nanomaterials on the floor of the silicon particles to successfully resolve silicon’s quantity enlargement downside, enabling reliability and excessive efficiency in EV lithium-ion batteries.
Why Silicon and World Market Progress
EV batteries are composed of 4 main components – cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. Extremely mentioned battery metals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese are synthesized to kind the cathode materials. On the anode facet, graphite has lengthy been the go-to materials for the reason that commercialization of lithium-ion batteries, however main points, particularly with respect to low capability and gradual charging, are impeding the expansion of EV adoption globally.
Silicon is acknowledged because the solely out there materials to resolve graphite’s deficiencies, providing the attract of excessive capability and quicker charging instances. Given the urgency to combine silicon as a essential part in EV batteries, the worldwide silicon anode market is predicted to develop quickly from round US$0.4 billion in 2022 to US$28.7 billion in 2032, representing a compound annual progress fee of 54 %. Nevertheless, for all its benefits, silicon has its personal set of challenges.
In the course of the cost and discharge cycle, silicon tends to increase greater than 300 % in quantity, and stabilizing the fabric has been a big problem to the trade. Standard approaches to mitigate the quantity enlargement downside of silicon anodes are costly and unscalable on account of energy-intensive processes and high-cost enter feedstocks. A lot of the firms utilizing silicon anode depend on expensive manufacturing processes to avoid the problem, leading to a worth level that’s roughly eight instances (US$80 per kilogram) costlier than graphite anode (US$10 per kg).
Firm Highlights
- NEO Battery Supplies is a Canada-based battery supplies expertise firm centered on creating silicon anode supplies for lithium-ion batteries in electrical autos (EV), electronics and power storage techniques.
- The corporate’s patented expertise, referred to as NBMSiDE®, affords cost-effective, longer-running and ultra-fast-charging batteries in comparison with present state-of-the-art graphite anode supplies. NBM is aiming to attain the 1,000-mile battery for EVs utilizing its silicon anode supplies.
- NBM is positioning itself as a low-cost, high-performance silicon anode materials provider for EV lithium-ion batteries. NBM’s capacity to fabricate silicon anode supplies economically and effectively is an important level of differentiation from present rivals.
- NEO Battery Supplies has signed greater than 60 NDAs with global-tier firms, together with battery cell producers, EV automakers, electronics producers and high-profile battery provide chain firms. With these events, NBM is conducting greater than 20 energetic materials evaluations to strike milestone joint improvement, collaboration and offtake agreements.
- The corporate is planning to assemble business crops each in Canada and South Korea to fabricate NBMSiDE®. Additional, NBM is aiming to construct extra crops within the U.S. and Europe to determine itself as a world prime 10 silicon anode provider within the EV battery trade.
Key Know-how: NBMSiDE®
NBM claims its patented silicon anode expertise, referred to as NBMSiDE®, may handle and resolve the quantity enlargement downside by coating the silicon particles with mechanically sturdy nanomaterials reminiscent of elastic polymers and carbon nanotubes. There are at the moment eight patents issued and pending for this expertise throughout varied jurisdictions.
NBM’s proprietary one-step course of allows considerably decrease manufacturing prices than different silicon anode supplies. NBM concurrently mixes and nanocoats the silicon precursor, components and nano coating supplies to fabricate the ultimate product. Not like rivals that manufacture in multi-steps at excessive temperatures of >1,500 levels Celsius and/or in vacuum techniques, NBMSiDE® is produced at room temperature and stress, realizing vital power financial savings and lowering carbon emissions. NBM’s capacity to economically manufacture silicon anode supplies is an important level of differentiation from present firms.
NEO Battery Supplies’ modern NBMSiDE® locations the corporate in an excellent place to leverage this exponential market progress, led by a administration staff with a confirmed monitor report within the international battery trade.
NBMSiDE® is paving the best way for cost-effective, longer-running and ultra-fast-charging batteries, which may drive down the EV prices and finally improve EV adoption. The corporate goals to attain the 1,000-mile battery for EVs utilizing its silicon anode supplies.
NBM has additional optimized its one-step course of to attain constant, uniform nano coating capabilities – a key issue for top efficiency and high quality management. Uniform nano coating layers strengthened silicon’s structural sturdiness, demonstrating over a 70 % improve in battery cycle life enchancment. NBMSiDE® additionally retains greater than 70 % larger preliminary battery capability (measured in mAh/g) in comparison with rivals and has realized 5-minute ultra-fast charging in assessments.
Profitable improvement and key advantages of NBMSiDE® has caught the curiosity of downstream customers. Having signed greater than 60 non-disclosure agreements, which embrace international battery cell producers and EV automakers, NBM is prioritizing to ink a number of milestone agreements reminiscent of joint developments, collaborations and offtakes. So far, the corporate is conducting greater than 20 energetic materials evaluations with international NDA events to realize such value-creating milestones.
Because of technological breakthroughs, downstream clients’ demand for NBMSiDE® has skilled an uptick. To alleviate bottlenecks and order backlogs, NBM is relocating to an enlargement facility with bigger manufacturing and testing gear. The corporate plans to rent extra analysis engineers to extend the general R&D productiveness for commercialization.
Commercialization can be achieved by way of developing mass manufacturing crops in Canada and South Korea. With an preliminary capability of 240 tons per yr, the ultimate plant capability is estimated to achieve 5,000 tons per yr. Subsequently, NBM goals to increase its international presence by establishing extra business crops within the U.S. and Europe by way of joint ventures.
With the preliminary capability, NBM anticipates an preliminary income of US$12 million representing a provide capability for 80,000 to 160,000 EVs. At full capability, income era may improve to US$250 million. NBM plans to construct at the very least three business crops by 2030, giving it a capability of 15,000 tons per yr to place itself as a world prime 10 silicon anode provider.
Administration Workforce
Spencer Huh – Director, President and CEO
Spencer Huh has greater than 25 years of monetary and operational expertise in Canada and Korea, with experience in monetary operations, technique, efficiency administration, and enterprise planning. Within the early a part of his profession, he labored as an funding advisor with giant firms reminiscent of Hanwha Securities, TD Canada Belief, and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since 2012, Huh has labored with quite a few personal and publicly listed firms in Korea and Canada, together with mining, medical gadget, and high-tech firms. He has performed an integral function within the institution, acquisition, and financing for these firms.
S. R. Hwang – Director, Chief Working Officer and SVP
S. R. Hwang has over 30 years of expertise working for Samsung SDI (sixth largest international battery producer), serving as the manager director, chief of buying and advisor till 2018. His obligations included managing the availability chain, procurement planning and superior enterprise improvement. Throughout his time with Samsung SDI, Hwang accrued an unlimited community and data pipeline throughout the lithium-ion battery trade. He has a deep understanding of enterprise improvement and commerce capabilities, in addition to specialised information in uncooked supplies, reminiscent of cobalt, nickel, and aluminum.
Dr. S. G. Kim – Chief Know-how Officer
Dr. S. G. Kim served as the manager vice-president and head of R&D of Hanwha Options’ Superior Supplies Division, a multibillion-dollar South Korean conglomerate. Kim led Hanwha Options to almost double new product gross sales and increase the core expertise portfolio by main a number of value-added tasks for international automotive, aerospace and electronics firms. Previous to becoming a member of Hanwha Options, Kim held tenure as the worldwide R&D chief at Momentive Efficiency Supplies, the second-largest international producer of silicon-based merchandise. Kim obtained his Ph.D. in chemical engineering and utilized chemistry from the College of Toronto, Canada. He has printed high-impact journals within the discipline of polymers and nanocomposites, and retains 15 patents associated to polymers, coatings and silicon-based supplies.
Dr. J. H. Woo – Chief Science Officer
Dr. J. H. Woo has labored as a scientific analysis engineer at Normal Motors World R&D Centre, researching nanostructured silicon anode supplies with synthetic strong electrolyte interphase (SEI), lithium-ion battery efficiency optimization, and electrode materials synthesis. His analysis experience focuses on the synthesis of silicon anode supplies for high-energy batteries in long-range EVs and on interfacial engineering for sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries (ASSB). Receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering on the College of Colorado Boulder, Woo has printed influential literature in worldwide journals, reminiscent of in Superior Supplies, that superior the sphere of silicon anodes and ASSBs. His high-impact analysis has led to a serious battery supplies NASDAQ-listed firm licensing Woo’s patent associated to ASSBs.
Dr. D. M. Whang – Lead Scientific Advisor
Dr. D. M. Whang’s analysis experience lies within the discipline of fabrication and manufacturing of low-dimensional nanomaterials, particularly graphene, semiconductor nanowires, and porous nanostructures for functions in EV lithium-ion batteries, gasoline cells and varied power storage functions. Whang owns greater than 50 patents of which two-thirds are co-owned with Samsung Electronics, and he has additionally co-authored greater than 177 peer-reviewed publications with over 13,850 citations. Whang is a professor on the Faculty of Superior Supplies Science & Engineering and Superior Institute of Nanotechnology at Sungkyunkwan College (SKKU). He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from Pohang College of Science and Know-how (POSTECH) in 1997, and previous to becoming a member of SKKU, he was a senior analysis fellow at Harvard College.
This text was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital Ltd.
