Standard lithium-ion batteries take more than 30 minutes to safely fully charge. Echion Technologies, a spin-out company from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, has been working to speed up this process without jeopardising safety and reliability.
The company replaces the graphite and lithium titanate anode materials currently used in battery cells. Batteries using these anode materials cannot safely fast-charge and retain high energy density.
Echion’s mixed niobium oxide technology enables superfast charging lithium-ion batteries that are safe, reliable and have a long cycle life.
The company’s materials work with standard and next-generation cathode materials in a variety of formats, as well as components commonly found in lithium-ion cells. Some of the world’s largest cell and equipment manufacturers are testing these cells in real-life applications today. In such trials, Echion’s technology has safely and consistently lowered the charging time to fully charge cells down to six minutes. This superfast charging is useful for a range of applications, from medical devices to commercial electric vehicles.
Dr Alex Groombridge is Echion Technologies’ Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer. Alex joined the Scale Up Accelerator programme in 2021. He says: “I expect that the advice from the mentors and supporting network who have gone through a similar process in scaling engineering businesses will prove invaluable. It’ll help me and my company avoid pitfalls, and have a more diverse set of opinions for the challenges to be faced.”
Echion has received UKRI and equity funding and has teamed up with international companies. The company aims to double its personnel and capabilities by the end of 2022. It will now need to rapidly scale up its capabilities in order to supply its increasing number of customers and partners.
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