Last month we discussed how ESS is transforming renewable energy projects and how it also can energize power grids to give greater stability as well as to power mini grids that will be bring more power to the people.  That is an exciting and amazing change happening before our very eyes and 3DOM remains on the cutting edge of ESS technology.

But beyond the cutting edge, 3DOM is working daily to make ESS safer for everyone.  We are all keenly aware of the horror stories of the past: smoking batteries on 787 airplanes turning back to land; taxis in Shenzhen catching fire with passengers in the back seat; and low quality batteries in systems leading to fires in malls and markets.  This is not TV, this is real, and 3DOM is doing something about it.

The primal fear of fire is a strong driver of human behavior and as we rely more and more on ESS we need it to be safe as we move it into our homes, into our offices and into our autos.  ESS works via a controlled chemical reaction and with different chemical configurations, we can provide for different uses of ESS: long, slow releases; fast emergency flows of energy to address immediate concerns; and various iterations in between.

Key to the chemistry is the metals that are used in the ESS.  Lithium ion batteries from many manufactures use cheap components allowing cells to crack and leak or to overheat and catch fire as the chemical reaction gets too hot to control.  3DOM first improved the Li Ion to the LI+ with proprietary materials to increase energy density and the life cycle of the batteries, as well as reducing the quantum of nickel and cobalt, the mining of which has given rise to concerns as to treatment of miners, who may be minors.

The current batch of 3DOM batteries have replaced the quantities of cobalt, nickel and manganese with phosphates providing superior fire retarding attributes while improving energy density and without losing life cycle duration.  These fuel cells are being sold right now and form the backbone of the 3DOM product portfolio.

3DOM’s scientists and engineers never rest. The next generation will roll out shortly and is focused on the lithium metal battery (LMB) which has more than double the energy density and is at the top of the life cycle, while maintaining 3DOM’s leading position regarding safety.  Electrolyte controls in the LMB further reduce threats of combustion.  The market should be seeing these new leading-edge cells in 2021.

And not to far on the horizon is a major game changer: the solid electrolyte battery (SEB).  Energy density is 3 times the Advanced Li Ion Battery and life cycles are 4 times that of the Advanced Li Ion battery.  A cycle life of 10,000 discharges is what is expected of this next generation cell, with solid electrolytes to minimize even further any threat of fire or explosion.

And you thought 3DOM just made really great batteries.