Innosuisse promotes Blackstone Resources
Blackstone Resources aims to build competitive solid-state battery production in Europe. Innosuisse has now promised to finance 50 percent of the development project. This helps to find ideal solid-state electrolytes and to simulate the 3D printing of the batteries.
The Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse will subsidize the development project of Blackstone Resources AG , which is estimated at 1.3 million francs. She has promised a grant of 50 percent. According to a media release from Blackstone Resources, this commitment will help finance the development of solid-state electrolytes and a “sophisticated” production simulation of 3D-printed solid-state batteries.
The Baar-based company relies on lithium-ion batteries with solid-state electrolytes. Their industrial production is based on Blackstone's own 3D printing process, the press release said. A research consortium consisting of Blackstone Resources, the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt ( Empa ) and the Bern University of Applied Sciences will upscale the synthesis of solid-state electrolytes developed by Empa.
Because the electrolyte, i.e. the conductive part of the battery, is solid, solid-state batteries have several advantages: They are non-flammable and cannot leak. They manage without cooling, which increases their energy density and thus their storage capacity. And theoretically they can be loaded faster. Car manufacturers in particular are hoping for them because they could solve the range problem of electric cars.
Against this background, Blackstone Resources AG sees “solid electrolytes as a key component for the next generation of battery technology” and will produce this technology “independently” in the future.