Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Altairnano) of Reno, Nevada, has invented and developed a nano-structured negative electrode material called nano Lithium Titanium Oxide (nLTO) that replaces the graphite used in “standard” Li-ion batteries with safe nanomaterials.

Altairnano performed “hot box” exercises on its batteries at temperatures up to 240°C – more than 100°C above the temperature where graphite-based batteries can explode – with zero explosions or safety concerns.

In addition, high-rate overcharge, puncture, crush, drop and other comparative tests were also performed alongside a wide range of graphite-based battery cells with no malfunctions, explosions or safety concerns exhibited by the nLTO cells.

Put to the same tests, the graphite cells routinely smoked, caught fire and exploded.

In addition, the company has performed tests demonstrating more than 9,000 use cycles at charge/discharge rates at which other battery types simply cannot function, let alone charge. The nLTO-based batteries can operate at temperatures as low as -50 °C and as high as 75°C with no unsafe characteristics.

“We put nLTO to a rigorous and uncompromising set of tests and the results were extremely compelling in terms of safety, performance and lifespan for enabling EV and HEV mass usage,”says Altair Nanotechnologies’s CEO and President Alan J. Gotcher, Ph.D.

Copyright Seven Mountains Scientific, Inc. Jul 2006
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