The award will support the company’s ongoing efforts on the low-cost manufacturing of functionalized si/graphene composite anode for reduced SEI formation.

XG Sciences had received an earlier small business pilot grant from the DOE, also worth $150,000, to work with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory staff to characterize and study the interface using advanced microscope and X-ray analysis, enabling a better understanding of the structure-performance relationship that will allow XG Sciences to optimize the material for improved performance.

XG Sciences says that it can tailor its silicon-graphene anode materials for capacities from 500 mAh/g to more than 2,000 mAh/g providing application to a wide range of energy storage applications. Today these anode materials can enable Li-ion cells with energy densities in the range of 350 Wh/kg. XG Sciences is working to improve the cycling performance to meet 1,000 charging cycles, a goal established under DOE’s EV Everywhere program to encourage more widespread adoption of electric vehicle technology.