Results from Altair's energy storage tests far exceed expectations
October 23, 2001 Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTI) has announced results from the cooperative work program it conducted with the J. Heyrovsky Institute, Prague, Czech Republic and Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. Early evaluation of the report indicated that the results achieved in energy storage far exceeded expectations, and verified the potential of Altair's nanosized lithiated titania to charge and discharge at rates that are orders of magnitude higher than more conventional material.
This ability to deliver energy at such high rates and to recharge in such a short time offers a new and revolutionary tool to battery manufacturers seeking solutions to battery requirements for solar cars, fuel cell drives, hybrid vehicles, and other growing markets for portable power.
Principal Investigator, Dr. Ladislav Kavan, noted, "The strong point of our work is that we are dealing with a broad array of materials of varying surface area (particle size) but with identical chemical composition." He went on to say, "Our conclusions about the dependence of electrochemical parameters on the surface area are well supported, and of general validity."
Tim Spitler, Director of Research for Altair and author of the research design in conjunction with Dr. Kavan said, "Dr. Kavan's work is a marvelous verification of the value of the ability to control particle size and quality afforded by the Altair process. We are currently reviewing the report carefully for patentable and publishable discoveries."
The study was partially funded by Xoliox, SA. Switzerland, a battery technology company which has several ongoing research programs with both EPFL and the J. Heyrovsky Institute. Xoliox stated, "Xoliox's recent research of these new nanomaterials, which was conducted in conjunction with Professor Michael Graetzel (Lausanne, Switzerland), revealed charge and discharge rates that are more than 100 times faster than conventional lithium ion battery technologies, enabling the battery to be fully recharged in under one minute."
A meeting has been scheduled in the near future between Altair and Xoliox to review the findings of the report and chart a path for future development activities between the two companies.
This is an example of nanoparticles as an enabling technology in a potentially very large market. Altair is positioned to supply commercial quantities of unique nano lithium titanate materials to this developing worldwide market.
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