ORNL Receives Federal Laboratory Awards for Paper-Thin, Customizable Batteries

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development were recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for their impactful partnership that resulted in a record $2.3 billion investment by Ultium Cells, a General Motors and LG Energy Solution joint venture, to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, that will employ 1,300 people.

The honor is ORNL’s first-ever FLC award for State and Local Economic Development. In addition to the economic development award, four technologies developed by ORNL researchers have won Excellence in Technology Transfer Awards. The annual FLC Awards recognize significant accomplishments in transferring federal laboratory technologies to the marketplace. Since the consortium’s founding in 1986, ORNL has won a total of 73 awards.

“At ORNL, every stage of the research process is a priority, including the commercialization of our technology. It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts in this area as we ensure our scientific breakthroughs have a positive impact on the nation,” said ORNL director Thomas Zacharia.

One of the honorees was Ateios Systems, a startup focused on innovative batteries, which has licensed an ORNL technology for solvent-free battery component production using radiation curing. The new method shortens processing from minutes to seconds, significantly lowers capital and operating costs, and reduces emissions.

Ateios Systems’ near-term focus is leveraging the technology to manufacture ultra-thin batteries for wearable devices and the Internet of Things, or physical objects embedded with sensors or processing systems. The company has developed a unique manufacturing process and advanced materials to produce a product called Enercalm, surface-mountable batteries designed for high-power wireless communication devices.

ORNL’s solvent-free process is compatible with the company’s manufacturing process, enabling quick scale-up by decreasing production time, significantly lowering energy requirements and equipment costs, and limiting the amount of space needed.

The adaptable technology holds promise to enable the widespread use of lightweight, flexible batteries for products like continuous glucose monitors, sleep trackers and other devices that allow people to monitor conditions and make proactive decisions. Longterm, Ateios Systems seek to expand into electric vehicles and power grid applications.

ORNL’s Jennifer Caldwell and Susan Ochs led the commercialization efforts. ORNL’s Zhijia Du, Christopher Janke, Jianlin Li and David Wood – currently on entrepreneurial leave – are co-inventors on the technology. The team also includes Ateios Systems’ Carlos Munoz and Rajan Kumar.

The project was sponsored by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.