How Curved Graphene Replaces Critical Raw Materials in Supercapacitor Manufacturing

The material market for the battery industry is huge - we are talking about an industry worth of billions, which will grow even more when replacement materials for critical raw materials and rare earth metals are sought. Industrial OEM manufacturers, such as in the automotive industry, are very exposed to the instability of critical raw material prices, complex and long supply chains, which in turn significantly increase greenhouse emissions. The renewable energy industry will grow significantly by 2030 and that will mean a greater demand for innovative and more sustainable materials in order to reach Europe's common goals of reaching net zero by 2050 and to break the dependence on China's critical imports of raw materials.?

Today, more than 90% of rare and critical raw materials, including lithium, cobalt, and rare earths, are produced in Asia, with China holding the lion’s share. China controls almost all heavy rare earth elements, materials essential for future-focused industries.This dominance could pose a significant challenge for Europe, as dependence on non-European supply chains leaves critical industries like defence and aerospace vulnerable to disruption.?

Indeed, the energy storage sector is now key for the EU to achieve its climate goals, the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) not only reinforce this, but also define the regulatory framework to advance the goal in an agile and sustainable way, accelerating Europe's position as a global benchmark in the energy transition. In April 2021, the European Union adopted a Regulation commonly known as the European Climate Law. It writes into law the goal set out in the European Green Deal for Europe's economy to become climate neutral by 2050 and aims all European member states to archive net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

?

What is Curved Graphene?

Is a synthetic carbide-based carbon material. Curved Graphene is a patented material produced at Skeleton Technologies' facility in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany. The production process of Curved Graphene is not dependent on critical raw materials, as the material is completely synthetic and is produced without the need for toxic or critical raw materials. Scaling up the large-scale production of curved graphene is critically important in near future, so that OEMs can move away from energy storages made from critical raw materials imported from China and other developing countries.?

?

What is the manufacturing process of Curved Graphene??

The manufacturing process of Curved Graphene involves Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Chlorine gas (Cl2). These materials react at high temperatures in an exothermic process, transforming the carbon in the carbide into Curved Graphene, with Silicon Tetrachloride (SiCl4) as a high-purity byproduct.?The production process of Curved Graphene is protected by several patent families worldwide. In synthesizing Curved Graphene, we utilize our patented fluidized bed reactor (FBR) technology. This advanced technology supersedes traditional rotary kiln reactors, which limit gas and solid interaction due to mechanical constraints. In contrast, our FBR technology fluidizes a bed of particles with a gas stream, creating a liquid-like movement of solids and allowing for more efficient reactions.?

Curved Graphene is produced by stripping metal atoms from a metal-carbon grid. This leaves a material which can be described as curved and bent graphene sheets, forming a highly nanoporous network.Thanks to Curved Graphene being highly nanoporous, it boasts a superior specific surface area with respect to conventional activated carbon.Furthermore, the synthesis of curved graphene allows for precise fine-tuning of nanopore sizes, enabling us to tailor the pore dimensions to match the electrolyte used. This ensures an optimal ion-size-to-pore-size ratio. Beyond these advantages, Curved Graphene also offers enhanced purity and improved electrode conductivity, ultimately maximizing the power performance of supercapacitors.

In addition, Skeleton's products do not contain conventional battery binders like PTFE or PVDF, which makes product processing less hazardous as no HF is formed from fluorine-based binders.

?

Does Curved Graphene have the potential to replace the critical raw materials used in batteries??

Curved Graphene has significant potential to reduce dependence on critical raw materials used in the battery industry. Since the entire production chain of our curved graphene is within Europe, in Germany we are able to quickly and reliably offer critical industrial sectors energy storage solutions that can last up to 15+ years with low maintenance and at the same time are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional batteries that use critical raw materials.

The replacement of critical raw materials with supercapacitors based on Curved Graphene would be particularly significant for automotive OEM manufacturers who still use lithium-ion batteries. In addition, data center and power grid distribution companies benefit significantly from energy storage solutions containing Curved Graphene, because this synthetic material can elevate supercapacitor performance with an increase in energy density of up to 72%.?

While optimized activated carbons typically achieve a micropore ratio between 0.5 and 0.6, Curved Graphene can reach up to 0.95, maximizing capacitive energy storage. Supercapacitors that contain curved graphene can withstand extreme conditions, i.e.extreme cold and heat. In these conditions of -40 degrees, Lithium-ion batteries disintegrate and other lead-acid batteries. Unlike batteries that store energy through chemical reactions, supercapacitors store it electrostatically, reducing the risk of leaks, explosions, and fires.

?

We asked Siim-Erik Alamaa, Curved Graphene Scale-Up Manager at our Bitterfeld-Wolfen facility, about the future potential of Curved Graphene

When it comes to achieving strategic autonomy in energy transition and energy security, Europe has a number of challenges that need to be tackled. If we look at the scarcity of critical raw materials in Europe or the readiness of our electrical grids to accommodate the renewable energy penetration, success in the fields of electrification and green transition is a tough nut to crack. When approaching these matters, one quickly comes across questions like how to secure the raw materials for highly sought-after batteries used in EVs and what investments are required for the grid to supply us with affordable and reliable green energy. Add the market entry of new industries such as AI data centers with their own unique needs into the mix and the thought of future energy transition might quickly seem overwhelming.

To achieve strategic autonomy in energy transition and energy security, Europe faces several challenges. Synthetic materials like Curved Graphene, with a low environmental footprint, are key to tackling these issues. By avoiding hard-to-find raw materials and mining activities, Curved Graphene offers a sustainable solution with significantly less environmental impact compared to other carbon-based energy storage materials. Bringing sustainable Curved Graphene-based products on the market is a result of decades of R&D work.

However, this is the innovation that is required to stay in the forefront of working towards Europe’s net zero energy goals. As a result, we can offer a sustainable, locally made and technically superior alternative to conventional carbon materials. We need to continue with similar efforts across industries in Europe to fulfill our commitment to the environment while remaining amongst the economic powerhouses globally.

Coming back to the challenges with electrical grids and new industries, we observe the evolving needs of the OEMs firsthand. Up until a few years ago, E-STATCOMS and power challenges in AI data centers were less common and something you might have heard in trivia questions. Now, these two are expected to be among the pillars driving the need for high-power energy storage. Why? Both applications are intended to reduce the burden of intermittent renewables and data centers on the electricity grid by balancing out the demand peaks and maintaining frequency. We have covered both applications extensively on our website. What matters, though, is that the installation of supercapacitor systems in electricity grids enables increased renewables’ penetration as well as reducing the risks of drops in electricity supply. In a situation where nearly everything and everyone is dependent on a reliable electricity supply, one can easily imagine the impact of suddenly missing this supply.

This goes to show that we are not only talking the talk of innovation, sustainability and so on, but we are offering real and practical solutions that enable the economies of Europe to transition towards the future already today.