{"id":14071,"date":"2021-06-04T13:47:19","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T20:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=14071"},"modified":"2021-06-04T13:47:19","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T20:47:19","slug":"oxis-battery-lost-other-batteries-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/oxis-battery-lost-other-batteries-found\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxis Battery Lost, Other Batteries Found?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Announcing pending bankruptcy last week, Oxis Energy<\/a> surprised those of us who did not see the impending problem.\u00a0 One major supporter of Oxis is George Bye, because his eFlyer line of aircraft were all slated to fly on their power.\u00a0 Contacted through company Vice President Diane Simard, Bye issued the following statement: \u201cBye Aerospace\u2019s eFlyer 800 program remains on track,\u201d said George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace<\/a>. \u201cWe continue to support Oxis Energy, their lithium-sulfur cell technology, leadership, team and owners. These types of transitions occur in every industry.\u201d\u00a0 Other batteries may wait in the wings, so to speak.<\/p>\n

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eFlyer 800 as configured with L3Harris for “mult-mission” tasks<\/p><\/div>\n

Oxis prefaced its web site with the following announcement: \u201cOXIS Energy Limited is in administration.\u00a0 Simon Girling and Christopher Marsden were appointed Joint Administrators of the Company on 19 May 2021. Simon Girling is authorized to act in the UK as an Insolvency Practitioners by the Insolvency Practitioners Association. Christopher Marsden is authorized to act in the UK as an Insolvency Practitioner by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The Joint Administrators act as agents to the Company and contract without personal liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could be a significant blow to Bye Aerospace, which has eFlyers 2, 4, 800 and a joint venture with L3Harris Technologies, \u201cTo develop an all-electric, multi-mission aircraft that will provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for domestic and international ISR mission operators.\u201d\u00a0 Texas Colt Aircraft<\/a> also planned on using Oxis battery packs in its electric version of its Light Sport Aircraft.<\/p>\n

eFlyer 2 parts are being molded at Warren, Oregon by Composites Universal Group<\/a>, which has also made parts for SpaceX, Airbus\u2019s A3<\/sup> Vahana, and others.<\/p>\n

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Texas Colt may also be in holding pattern awaiting new battery developments<\/p><\/div>\n

A June 9 deadline for bidding on Oxis patents allows a chance for cash-flush hopefuls to gain a technological advantage.\u00a0 Future Flight<\/em> reports<\/a>, \u201c\u2019The company was unable to secure the investment required to continue its product development,\u2019 said BDO business restructuring partner Simon Girling. \u2018However, we are hopeful of obtaining a sale of the company\u2019s specialist testing equipment, together with approximately 200 patents held by the company, and the opportunity remains for an acquirer to purchase these assets in situ at an internationally acclaimed Testing Centre, and separate research and development facility.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

This could be a lucrative opportunity for investors.\u00a0 Earlier this year, Oxis had announced testing of cells that stored 471 Watt-hours per kilogram, and planned on demonstrating cells holding 550 W-hrs\/kg by 2023.\u00a0 Their lithium-sulfur chemistry has the added benefit of being non-flammable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Other Opportunities for Hope<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Oxis itself may find some form of economic salvation.\u00a0 With 43 patent families available,<\/a> dedicated testing equipment, and an established manufacturing site, Oxis assets may be a tempting buy for others.\u00a0 But the downside may be that the assets are not picked up as an integratable whole.<\/p>\n

Other Possibilities<\/strong><\/h4>\n

AMAPOLA<\/strong><\/h4>\n

AMAPOLA (A Marketable Polymer-based Al-S battery) project<\/a> combines abundant (and therefore inexpensive) ingredients.\u00a0 The goal is to achieve \u201cgreater energy storage capabilities\u201d at a lower price than current lithium-ion cells.\u00a0 Aluminum and sulfur make an energy dense combination, with \u201cprospective values for energy density\u201d of 660 Watt-hours per liter and specific energy of 400 Watt-hours per kilogram at the cell level.\u00a0 That\u2019s the level which Elon Musk has proclaimed will be a floor for aircraft power.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a solid-state battery, though, \u201cTaking advantage of the incorporation of innovative polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs) based on novel highly conductive and inexpensive deep eutectic solvents (DES) for a cheaper, lighter, tougher and safer battery concept.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Proactive Project, AMAPOLA is funded under the EIC (European Innovation Council) Transition to Innovation Activities, building on a previous project called SALBAGE (Sulfur-Aluminum Battery with Advanced Polymeric Gel Electrolytes)<\/a>.\u00a0 Those controlled-phase gel electrolytes, derived from a \u201chighly conductive novel DES (Deep Eutectic Solvent) would, \u201cAchieve high sulfur loading and high sulfur utilization in the cathode in combination with new promising redox mediators; and strategies to overcome the presence of oxide layer in the aluminum anode.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AMAPOLA consortium is coordinated by HEMPOL group<\/a> (ICTP-CSIC) and includes researchers from University of Leicester, Graz University of Technology (TUGraz), University of Southampton and Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the battery company Varta Microinnovation and the SME Tech2Market.<\/p>\n

A Poppy and a Song<\/strong><\/h4>\n