NANOMALAYSIA Bhd (NMB) and UMORIE Graphene Technologies Sdn Bhd (UMORIE) have successfully developed a working prototype of Malaysia’s first game-changing graphene-based pouch cell battery to be used in electric vehicles (EVs).
This full-cell lithium ion battery with graphene material will be a more efficient storage platform for clean and renewable energy source that will revolutionize the EV industry.
The initiative was launched as part of NMB’s Graphene Action Plan 2020, with a total of RM340,000 in funding.
It has a substantially greater energy density than commercially available batteries, at 200Wh/kg.
This immediately translates into it being long-lasting; being able to recharge significantly faster; and a much longer life cycle.
As a result, it overcomes the issue of traditional EV batteries being too hefty, limiting driving range.
Seeing that graphene batteries have a higher power output, their size may be reduced, allowing EVs to travel further.
The battery’s intellectual property (IP) was developed collaboratively by NMB, UMORIE, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
NMB is Malaysia’s leading agency for nanotechnology commercialisation and industrialisation via a venture builder model.
Meanwhile, UMORIE is ASP PRO Sdn Bhd’s specialised research and development firm, with laboratory facilities to assist the pilot production of graphene batteries.
“In 2020, the global electric vehicle market size was US$246.7 bil and it is forecasted to grow up to US$1.31 tril in 2028. This battery will enable Malaysia to capture these opportunities from an EV components perspective,” said NMB CEO Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad.
“Not only will we be able to create a local supply chain to catalyse a local EV industry, but we will also be able to establish Malaysia as a high-technology energy storage system exporter and penetrate foreign EV markets such as Indonesia and Thailand.”
Dr Rezal confirms that this aligns with the country’s high-tech nation target and the recently announced 12th Malaysia Plan’s goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2025. – Nov 20, 2021
