Developed in just two years, SuperBattery is an innovative technology combining the characteristics of supercapacitors and batteries, including super-fast charging and increased durability. It’s already being used and/or tested in hybrid and fuel cell EVs, buses, trucks, and charging infrastructure, with mass production expected to start in 2024.
Saving the planet with batteries
Eventually, the startup wants to capture the high-power part of the energy storage market, and we estimate the addressable market size to be €95B.
Besides broad market opportunities, introducing such batteries would be a major step forward for CleanTech adoption as global pollution continued to increase.
In 2021, we emitted about 40.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. This was an increase of about 0.6% from 2020. Emissions from transportation, industry, buildings and electricity generation all increased in 2021. If newer tech won’t be introduced at the bigger scale, these figures are projected to continue to increase. By 2030, emissions are predicted to be about 42.8 billion metric tons. This would be an increase of about 5% from 2020. Estonia, on the contrary, plans to rely fully on green energy by the time and become the world leader in per capita clean energy production.
Mining. Soon considerably cleaner
The startup unveils Shell, a Fortune-500 company and global energy sector leader, as a new partner. Skeleton is joining a Shell-led consortium to offer electrification solutions for mining sites. The global metals and mining industry contributes to approximately 8% of the global carbon footprint, so it’s one of the most important areas regarding CleanTech adoption.
The nine-member consortium, including Skeleton and Shell, has introduced Shell’s Mining Electrification Solutions for Off-Road Vehicles. The solution is an end-to-end, interoperable electrification system that reduces emissions without compromising efficiency or safety while aiming to be cost-competitive versus diesel-powered operations. The pilot offering combines ultra-fast charging with Skeleton’s new SuperBattery, in-vehicle energy storage, power provisioning and microgrids.
SuperBattery combines several advantages, which make it a perfect fit for the project. Skeleton’s patented Curved Graphene material allows for 100 x faster charging than standard Lithium-ion batteries. SuperBattery can be charged in less than a minute in off-road vehicles, trimming the estimated charging time from 6,5 to 1 hour per day. More time can therefore be spent on mining and less on charging. SuperBattery has 50,000 life cycles and is free from Cobalt, Copper, Nickel and Graphite.
It is also much safer than a lithium-ion battery, even when crushed, overheated, or pierced. In addition, Lithium-ion batteries can also produce a significant amount of waste. In the United States alone, it is estimated that over 100 million lithium-ion batteries are discarded each year.
“Over the next 7 years, the mining sector represents a multi-billion revenue opportunity for Skeleton. This is not only driven by decarbonization, but by tangible economic benefits for our customers. Skeleton is focused on reducing emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. But we cannot achieve it alone, we can only do it with partners”, says Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies.
Skeleton entered the list of Estonian soon-to-be unicorns in May 2022, when the company raised 37.6M euros. In July 2022, the startup announced building of a new, fully automated, digitalised manufacturing plant in the Leipzig area, Germany.
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