MARKET
The lithium ion battery industry is estimated today to be valued at more than $20B. By 2025, that number is expected to reach between $70 and $90 billion dollars due to increased adoption from major technology markets like automotive, grid storage, and wearable electronics.
STATUS
Born out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2017, Kinetic Batteries was founded by Dr. Aaron Birt and Professor Diran Apelian. With a mission to change the way we think about making batteries, Aaron and Diran set out to build a team that could take on this ambitious goal. With awards including MTTC’s Commercialization Award, WPI’s Kalenian Award, and MassCEC’s Catalyst Award and partners including VRC Metal Systems, the Kostas Research Institute, and Northeastern University, KB and its team are developing critical technology that will reduce pack-level costs by more than 40%, consume 81% less energy, and reduce the manufacturing carbon footprint by 15%.
TECHNOLOGY
Kinetic Batteries uses an advanced spray process known as cold spray to additively consolidate active materials and metal binder powders into a lithium-ion battery electrode. This approach eliminates the need for solvent drying or calendaring and can be implemented directly on existing roll-to-roll manufacturing lines or can be used to truly 3D print electrodes into any shape or compositional structure. The result is (1) Cheaper electrode fabrication, (2) Increased flexibility in manufacturing, (3) reduced environmental impact, and (4) ready incorporation with state of the art battery materials.
