Graphene company NanoXplore received patent approval for its silicon-graphene battery anode material solution under the trademark SiG.

In the press release the company also announced that the use of its patented technology increased driving range by 8-10% for a typical electric vehicle (EV), reduced charging time, and reduced the operating temperature of lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon use in lithium-ion batteries is currently very small and relative to other silicon markets accounts for less than 1% of global demand. Silicon-based anodes could increase energy density and improve charging capability in high-performance EV batteries, as indicated by NanoXplore’s press release, however, there are still technical barriers to overcome, such as swelling. NanoXplore addresses the issue of swelling through its GrapheneBlack product, which acts as a coating agent around the silicon.

Graphite currently dominates lithium-ion battery anode materials, with a market share of over 90%. The potential for silicon-based anodes to capture more share provides a significant upside if the challenges are overcome. In Project Blue’s base-case scenario, the use of silicon in batteries will increase rapidly but despite double-digit growth rates, batteries would still only account for around 4% of the total silicon metal market by 2050.

The risks to the forecast are related to technological hurdles. A downside sees silicon not making major advances, however, should research and development demonstrate successful deployment of silicon-based anodes, demand could easily double. Stronger demand growth could start to add pressure to the energy-intensive silicon metal supply chain, critical for semiconductor and solar technologies.