Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) is escalating development of self-charging flexible battery technology under collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and will achieve scale-up of 1-litre of ink within the next four weeks.
The scale-up is an important milestone as 1 litre of Battery Ink has the capacity to produce more than 2,000 printable battery cells.
Self-charging technology
SOR subsidiary Australian Advanced Materials is developing the self-charging battery technology in a collaboration with the UNSW and CSIRO partially funded by the Federal Government.
The battery cells generate electricity from humidity in the air or skin surface to self-charge themselves within minutes.
No manual charging or wired power is required as they are created with a printable ink and are ideally suited for use in Internet of Things (IOT) devices.
The global battery market for IOT was worth US$8.7 billion in 2009 and forecast to be US$15.9 billion in 2025.
SPP a strong endorsement
In a strong endorsement of SOR’s materials technology strategy, the company has been overwhelmed by support for an SPP which was intended to raise $1 million but which has closed early after applications were received totalling $6.8 million.
As a result of applications surpassing the regulatory limit under the rules of the SPP, the board has agreed to accept an amount of $5.1 million in applications.
The company appreciates the very strong show of support from shareholders in what has been a challenging year.
Accelerating development
Strategic Elements intends to deploy its capital to dramatically accelerate development in current projects and to seek further acquisitions in Australian innovation.
SOR will also seek further acquisitions in Australian innovation and will announce these plans as terms are finalised and agreed with various development teams and partners.
Shares allotment
The company plans to allot and issue new shares by November 3 and shareholders will be advised of their holdings shortly after this date by the share registry.
Applications will be accepted on a first received basis up to the $1 million, with any oversubscriptions scaled back at the directors’ discretion and subject to all legal and regulatory requirements.
Batteries for Internet of Things
Technological advancements and adoption of various IOT devices such as wearable healthcare electronics, smart meters, various sensors, and home automation products are key reasons for driving growth in the battery market.
The growing need for thin and flexible batteries in IOT and medical devices, along with inherent advantages of micro-batteries provides significant opportunities.
This development is being conducted under the collaboration between the company, UNSW and CSIRO part-funded by the Australian Research Council.
The expected outcomes of the circa $1 million project are new electronic materials for a wide range of uses in flexible electronics and significant advances in energy-efficient data storage devices. IP and commercialisation rights remain with the company.
Battery Ink
The battery ink is being developed by integrating significant existing ink formulation and printed electronics intellectual property from the company’s Nanocube Memory Ink technology with an advanced graphene oxide material.
Strong potential competitive advantages exist over lithium-based batteries that suffer from flexibility, dimension, weight, and safety issues whilst needing a constant power supply to recharge.