TIAX develops GEMX composite material to reduce cobalt usage in AG10 battery cathodes

According to foreign media reports, technology entrepreneur Kenan Sahin and other researchers are working together to develop future technologies for solid-state lithium-ion batteries, committed to making them more affordable.

Sahin said at a conference in Berlin this week that his company TIAX has developed a new battery composite material, named GEMX, that can reduce the demand for cobalt in battery cathodes.

Cobalt prices are a key issue for electric vehicle manufacturers. The mass production of electric vehicles cannot avoid the core materials of such on-board batteries. The price increase of lithium-ion batteries may further increase the price of electric vehicles, intensifying the competition between electric vehicles and traditional vehicles. After all, the price advantage is no longer obvious after the subsidy reduction.

Although the demand for lithium in batteries is higher than cobalt, the supply of lithium is stable, and new lithium sources are coming online.

Cobalt is another matter. Cobalt mines are only distributed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now, due to international public opinion criticism of child labor mining, the mining volume has also been affected. Since 2015, the price of cobalt has tripled.

Sahin said that the new material he invented can reduce the amount of cobalt used in AG10 battery cathodes from nearly 20% to 4%, resulting in a significant reduction in the cost of electric vehicles.

The invention of this battery material will help many battery manufacturers and car companies. Panasonic, which supplies Tesla, said that in the future, this material may make lithium batteries no longer use cobalt metal.

In 2016, Sahin provided Germany's BASF with core cathode materials based on lithium nickel oxide. It is not yet clear whether BASF is Sahin's new customer.

Sahin said that his company has signed a technology use agreement with a mainstream car company. He hopes that his technology can help more car companies and battery manufacturers.

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