Japanese provider of specialty elastomers, polymers, and specialty chemical substances Zeo has signed a strategic partnership with Sino Utilized Expertise, a Taiwanese producer of superior nanomaterials for next-generation batteries.
As a part of the collaboration, Zeon will lead a $20-million Sequence C fundraising spherical for SiAT to help the enlargement of its manufacturing capability for single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) conductive paste, a nanomaterial utilized in next-generation battery applied sciences. SiAT goals to make use of the funding to scale its annual conductive paste manufacturing capability to 25,000 tons by 2030. Zeon would be the firm’s main provider.
In contrast to conventional conductive brokers like carbon black or multi-walled carbon nanotube slurries, SWCNT conductive paste affords superior electrical conductivity, mechanical energy and chemical stability, making it properly suited to superior battery formulations, in line with SiAT.
Mass manufacturing of SWCNT powder is difficult, because the high-temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) course of requires exact management of catalysts and response circumstances to realize excessive yield and excessive purity. Zeon produces ZEONANO, an SWCNT product characterised by excessive facet ratio, excessive purity and enormous floor space.
SWCNTs are likely to bundle and exhibit poor dispersibility in aqueous and non-aqueous media, complicating their uniform integration into electrode slurries throughout battery manufacturing. However SiAT’s course of allows the even dispersion of SWCNTs into steady conductive paste merchandise tailor-made for battery electrodes.
Since 2024, Zeon and SiAT have collaborated to introduce their LSC2102 (NMP-based) and LSC1101 (water-based) well-dispersed SWCNT conductive pastes. These merchandise have demonstrated that incorporating a small quantity of SWCNTs into lithium battery cathodes and anodes can improve power output and cycle life, which is especially essential for silicon anodes and different high-capacity, high-rate efficiency purposes.
Past battery purposes, there’s potential to make use of SWCNTs throughout a number of industries together with metallic, rubber, plastic composites, semiconductors and extra, enabling improvements in high-conductivity useful rubber, high-thermal-conductivity supplies, structural reinforcements, and high-performance membranes. SiAT will proceed working with Zeon to increase SWCNT purposes throughout industries.
Supply: Zeo
