Sulfur battery innovator clears key milestone to commercialisation – and to compete with li-ion

Sydney-based energy storage innovator Gelion says it has cleared a major new milestone for its sulfur battery technology that brings it a step closer to commercialisation and to being competitive with lithium-ion batteries.

The UK-listed company announced on Thursday that its proprietary cathode active material (CAM) has crossed a key threshold demonstrating stable cycling, using the industry standard platform for evaluating new battery materials. 

In more technical terms, Gelion’s CAM has crossed the threshold of 4Q areal capacity (~4 mAh/cm²) in coin cells – ‘areal capacity’ being a measure of how much electrical charge an electrode can store per unit of surface area.

Gelion say this is widely regarded as a key milestone for high energy density sulfur cathodes, demonstrating that they can be processed into thicker, high structural integrity electrodes and take them a “critical step” closer to high energy density performance in large format pouch cells. 

Crucially, the company says the new achievement represents an important benchmark for competitiveness with conventional lithium-ion technology, and to the ultimate goal of producing batteries for e-aviation, electric mobility, stationary storage, and other commercial applications.

“Achieving 4Q areal capacity in coin cells marks a major validation of our sulfur cathode platform and represents a key technical milestone for Gelion,” the company’s CEO, John Wood, said in a statement on Thursday.

“These results give us strong confidence that our sulfur CAM can progress toward delivering the same performance in pouch-cell formats. 

“As we continue refining electrodes for larger format manufacturing, we are building the technical foundation required for prototype development and industry engagement.”

Gelion, originally spun out of the University of Sydney, started out specialising in a non-flow zinc-bromide technology, but is now focused entirely on sodium-sulfur (Na-S) and lithium-sulfur (Li-S battery) technologies, designed for high energy density, high power, wider operating temperature ranges, longer life, lower cost and streamlined manufacturing.

In March 2023, the company put itself in contention to build “the world’s best battery” after buying up an intellectual property portfolio of more than 450 Lithium Sulfur and Silicon Anode patents.

While still headquartered in Sydney, Gelion’s listed on London’s AIM stock exchange in 2021.

in October, Gelion raised an aggregate of more than £10 million through the issue of more than 50,000,000 new shares, followed by an as-yet undisclosed amount from a separate retail offer that was closed off early due to a high level of demand.

The fundraising followed closely on the news that the company had been awarded two patents in the US, boosting its efforts to “build a defensible moat around its unique approach to next-generation sulfur technology.”

Gelion has also recently sealed a deal with an Japan giant TDK Corporation in Japan, which has major manufacturing facilities across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, serving industries such as automotive, industrial, and consumer technology.

A previous version of this article said Gelion moved its headquarters to the UK after supporting the Albanese government’s National Battery Strategy. It has been corrected to reflect that Gelion’s headquarters remain in Sydney, and it listed on AIM in 2021, before the battery strategy launch.

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