Spinoff from argonne-led innovation hub opens new frontier for batteries – Blue Current.
Research by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) has enabled spinoff company Blue Current to develop a safe, solid-state battery that is ready for megawatt-scale manufacturing. JCESR is an Energy Innovation Hub led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. An arm of Koch Industries has invested $30 million in Blue Current to build its first pilot factory in Hayward, California. Blue Current’s target market is electric vehicles.
Solid-state batteries, which contain solid electrolytes, are much less flammable than liquid batteries, potentially making them safer. But solid electrolytes face technical challenges.
A crystalline class of solids known as glass ceramics have good conductivity. But they lack the ability to…