U.S. Photonics receives $95K grant to develop nanobattery

In fiscal 2008, the National Science Foundation doled out more than $100 million in grants to about 300 small technology firms, including a Springfield startup hoping to perfect the next-generation lithium-ion battery.

The foundation awarded U.S. Photonics Inc. a $95,000 grant for research and development of a high-density nanobattery composed of microscopic cells designed to greatly extend battery life and significantly reduce recharging time.

Some 3,000 companies applied for Phase I grants through the Arlington, Va.-based foundation's Small Business Innovation Research program, said James Rudd, program director. The grant covers a six-month research period that could lead to a much larger Phase II grant for U.S. Photonics if the company can demonstrate its product's long-term viability.

Scientists developing the nanobattery in the company's leased laboratory space on the sixth floor of downtown Springfield's Jordan Valley Innovation Center are determined to secure additional funding for the project. Even in the face of intense competition, U.S. Photonics executives Jacob Conner and Ryan Zweerink are confident their research will someday enable laptops to run on a battery for days without recharging or perhaps provide a mobile source of reliable power for the U.S. military.

Of the 100 pounds of gear typically carried by soldiers, about a third of the weight is battery-related, said Zweerink, executive vice president and the company's pitchman.

"(It's) a grand-slam, knock-it-out-the-park type of deal - if we can pull it off," he said. "The market potential is huge. It affects everything."

Jolt at JVIC

Details about the nanobattery being developed by U.S. Photonics are proprietary, but President and CEO Conner said the design draws on several scientific disciplines, including chemistry, engineering and physics.

The result is a battery reminiscent of a watch battery but only about a half-millimeter thick, said Conner, who Zweerink describes as the "genius" behind the research. Based on Conner's preliminary calculations, each 4-volt battery would be able to deliver an electrical current of up to 900 amperes for an undetermined amount of time; that translates to 3,600 watts - enough electricity to illuminate 36 100-watt light bulbs.

Conner hopes that eventually the nanobattery's total storage capacity will be tens or even hundreds of amp-hours.

"We've got some data at this point ... but it's theoretical, not experimental," Conner said.

The battery components are held together with a flexible, plastic substrate capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,000 F to guard against overheating, Zweerink said. But the real beauty of the battery lies in its nanotechnology, which consists of several microscopic cells no larger than 100 nanometers in diameter, Conner said, noting that the objective is to shrink those cells to about 20 nanometers, if possible. By comparison, a red blood cell's diameter is about 8,000 nanometers, he added.

"We'll be putting millions of these in a square centimeter," Conner said.

Research conducted by Missouri State University physics professor Saibal Mitra, a U.S. Photonics shareholder and nanotech expert, has been incorporated into the nanobattery project, Conner said. The company's ownership is divided among nine partners, with Conner, Zweerink and a silent partner serving as majority shareholders.

In addition to increased battery capacity and flexibility, materials used to build the prototype are lighter and more environmentally friendly than their predecessors, Conner said. That means carbon-based materials will replace toxic heavy metals previously used in battery manufacturing, he said.

While the nanobattery under development at JVIC lends itself to mass production, the final product won't be inexpensive, Zweerink said.

"The downfall is going to be the cost," he conceded, noting that the market will dictate pricing.

Still, U.S. Photonics has been in touch with some large corporations - Procter & Gamble among them - that have expressed interest in its ongoing research. Zweerink said the nanobattery also may have biomedical applications and could be a power source for pacemakers and other implantable devices.

Seeking a match

Next month, Conner and Zweerink will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with representatives of Dawnbreaker Inc., a consulting firm handpicked by NSF to assist tech companies with the commercialization process.

Consulting firms help grant recipients develop their Phase II proposals, which rely more on marketplace potential than on intellectual merit, said Rudd at NSF.

"Phase II is often more favorably reviewed by the panel if there's evidence of outside interest in the work," he added.

Firms that secure strategic partners or angel investors for the commercialization stage are eligible for a Phase II grant of up to $1 million, Rudd said. There's also a Phase I-B grant that matches $50,000 for $100,000 of private investment. Rudd said NSF awarded about 30 Phase I-B grants last year.

Through its MatchMaker Program, NSF also fosters strategic partnerships between grant recipients and deep-pocketed investors with a passion for capitalizing on cutting-edge innovation. Zweerink and Conner said that's exactly what U.S. Photonics needs.

"We don't need any more practice. ... We want to build batteries and create jobs," Zweerink said.

U.S. Photonics also is working closely with Mary Love, procurement director with Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers at Missouri State University. Love helps southwest Missouri businesses identify and manage government contracts.

"(NSF's small-business research program) helps small businesses pay for research that might not be developed otherwise, and it's also a way for (the government) to get access to ideas and potential resources that might not be otherwise available," Love said.

In federal fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30, the NSF distributed about $18 million in nanotech research grants, Rudd said. He estimated between $2 million and $3 million has been routed to nanobattery development in the last two years.

"It's a very, very hot area," Rudd said. "A big piece of the puzzle is how to make these batteries efficient and cost-effective. ... It would be the basis of some very strong industry for the U.S."[[In-content Ad]]