General Motors has teamed up with a materials science startup with the goal of enhancing performance and increasing the lifespan of its electric vehicle batteries. According to TechCrunch, General Motors' GM Ventures invested $10 million in October in Forge Nano, which has developed an atomic layer technology called Atomic Armor.
Atomic Armor is made up of an ultra-thin ceramic layer that coats materials all the way down to the atomic level, which, according to Forge Nano's CEO Paul Lichty, makes the batteries more stable, and prevents thermal runaway events that can cause battery fires.
GM spokesperson Jack Crawley said the Atomic Armor technology could lead to batteries with longer lives, shorter charge times, and increased energy density. According to Lichty, energy density will increase by as much as 20%.
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"We're basically preventing corrosion in the cell that makes them die quickly, whether that's from heat or from usage," Forge Nano's chief technology officer, James Trevey, told TechCrunch. "The more extreme the application, the more improvement you'll see from Atomic Armor."
The deal was announced just over a week after GM discontinued its Ultium battery brand. The company is looking to adopt lithium iron phosphate technology in its batteries with the aim of decreasing the cost of its EVs by up to $6,000, per The Verge.
GM also recently partnered with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL to produce a battery with increased charging capabilities and range.
If this most recent partnership delivers longer range and shorter charging times, while at the same time decreasing the price of GM EVs, it could lead some consumers to consider making their next car an EV, greatly reducing carbon emissions that are warming the planet.
"GM is always looking for ways we can make EVs more effective [and] pursue better battery performance. So atomic layer deposition — the ability to control our chemistry and structure of our battery materials at the atom-by-atom level — is certainly something we're interested in," Crawley told TechCrunch.
"Forge Nano's Atomic Armor technology has game-changing potential for our battery materials at significant scale," said managing director of GM Ventures Anirvan Coomer. "They have already demonstrated the ability to expand cathode capabilities, which is the most expensive battery cell component. This could unlock benefits for customers and the business."
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