BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / June 20, 2024 / Pure Lithium, a Boston-based vertically integrated battery technology company, will be awarded a U.S. patent (U.S. Patent No. 12,027,691) on July 2, 2024, entitled "Vertically Integrated Pure Lithium Metal and Lithium Battery Production," with Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Emilie Bodoin listed as the sole inventor.
Ms. Bodoin comments: "This is a foundational patent for Pure Lithium. By inventing a lithium metal electrode production process that seamlessly integrates into battery manufacturing, we solve numerous problems associated with traditional processes while creating batteries with superior performance. The simple act of vertical integration generates substantial cost savings on shipping and the handling of air-sensitive material. Our use of lithium brine bypasses traditional lithium compound production, further reducing costs and delivering substantial environmental benefits."
Lithium metal batteries, invented in 1977 by Nobel laureate Professor Sir M. Stanley Whittingham, who Pure Lithium has a joint battery patent with, have been long regarded as the "Holy Grail" of energy storage, boasting 3861 mAh/g in the metal anode, versus 372 mAh/g in today's graphite anode. However, they never saw mass adoption due to cost, production and quality issues. While commonly used lithium metal foils are sufficient for today's primary battery market, this method cannot support lithium metal electrode production for the next generation of rechargeable lithium metal batteries, those which will supplant today's lithium-ion technology.
Lithium metal is so reactive that it must be shipped under mineral oil, adding substantial shipping and handling costs. Moreover, the material commonly shows up in an unusable state. Pure Lithium bypasses this step entirely, going from Brine to Battery™ in a single integrated process. The combination of our electrodeposition technology and vertical integration produces a perfect thin lithium metal electrode, lithium metal on a substrate, that can be put directly into the battery.
Ms. Bodoin further comments: "Over the last three years, we have innovated far beyond my original patent and now have a robust portfolio of 73 patents and patent applications. Pure Lithium is the first company to seamlessly integrate the anode side of the global battery supply chain. The ability to use concentrates of lithium brine and control the lithium source mitigates risks associated with global supply chains and unpredictable geopolitics. This unprecedented fusion of technologies, lithium extraction and electrodeposition, perfectly integrates processes to produce a superior electrode. It should not be a surprise that this leads to superior battery performance."
Co-founder and CSO, Professor Donald R. Sadoway comments: "It is fitting that the anode of the lithium metal battery, the electrochemical energy storage device destined to overtake the lithium-ion battery, is produced by an elegant process that combines two seemingly disparate electrochemical techniques: metal extraction and electrodeposition. There is a symmetry here."
Ms. Bodoin adds: "We'd like to thank our legal team, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, for their guidance on our intellectual property portfolio."
About Pure Lithium
Pure Lithium is a disruptive Boston-based company led by world-renowned battery and metallurgical expert, MIT Emeritus Professor Donald R. Sadoway, as full-time CSO; and inventor, entrepreneur and lithium expert, CEO Emilie Bodoin. The company's novel Brine to Battery™ extraction technology unlocks unconventional sources of lithium to create a battery-ready electrode in one day. The resulting battery is free of excess lithium and uses no cobalt, nickel, manganese or graphite.
For more information, visit www.purelithium.io.
Contact:
Amalie Mundt, Director of Corporate Development
amundt@purelithium.io
SOURCE: Pure Lithium
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