Investigators at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories have devised a technology that reduces the weight of a pasted, nickel hydroxide electrode by half, for the same capacity as conventional NiOOH electrodes. This permits weight reduction sufficient to make a rechargeable nickel-zinc battery suitable for electric vehicles with extended range. This new pasted NiOOH electrode is compatible with Berkeley Lab's improved zinc-nickel batteries as well as other alkaline rechargeable batteries. Manufacture of the electrode can be readily adapted to standard "roll-bonded" manufacturing processes. Manufacturers of all alkaline rechargeable batteries can take advantage of this new technology, particularly manufacturers of nickel-zinc, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is curently seeking partnerships with industries to further develop other applications for its Lightweight Electrode. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is continuing to develop and pilot test novel materials and applications for this invention, and is curently in search of partners to market and further commercialize this concept. Liscensing opportunities are available for the development and the manufacture of products using this technology.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Technology Transfer Department
Reference Number: CIB-1252
MS 90-1070
Berkeley, CA 94720
Tel: (510) 486-6467 Fax: (510) 486-6457
http://www.lbl.gov/Tech-Transfer/techs/lbnl1252.html