Electric vehicle manufacturers are searching for a significant increase in energy density, an improvement of fast-charging capabilities, and a reduced cost for lithium-ion batteries. A graphene nanotube dispersion, developed by OCSiAl, allows for a substantial increase in key battery parameters and is now experiencing growing interest from Chinese battery manufacturers.

Introducing OCSiAl’s graphene nanotubes into anode and cathode formulations makes it possible to reach 300 Wh/kg energy density and even go beyond this. In the anode, nanotubes unlock industrial-scale use of silicon, which has more than nine times the energy density of traditionally used graphite.

Nanotubes create long, flexible, conductive, strong bridges to keep silicon anode particles well connected to each other even during severe volume expansion and cracking, which previously limited market use of silicon anodes. This leads to long-lasting, fast-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Electrode sample with 0.06% of SWCNTs shows good coverage of the particle’s surface.

To meet the market’s needs, the licensed manufacturers of OCSiAl’s graphene nanotube dispersion in China are ramping up production capacities. Shenyang East Chemical Science-Tech (East Chem) and Shanghai Haiyi Scientific Trading (Haiyi) both plan to increase output of the nanotube dispersion in the next two years. According to the manufacturers, the combined capacity of their facilities will reach 40,000 tonnes in 2023–2024.

East Chem and Haiyi, which are among the leading chemical manufacturers in China, launched local productions of OCSiAl’s graphene nanotube dispersion for batteries in 2019 to develop a sustainable and reliable supply chain of nanotube solutions for batteries to the Chinese market, which dominates globally in lithium-ion technology.