Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TT-Battery (Low cost, long durability rechargeable Green Battery based on Zn and MnO2 electrodes.)

Teaser

TT-Battery project deals with the validation, industrialization and commercialization of an innovative electrochemical storage device, patented by TuscanTech and able to achieve unparalleled targets in terms of cost and durability. The rechargeable battery technology is based...

Summary

TT-Battery project deals with the validation, industrialization and commercialization of an innovative electrochemical storage device, patented by TuscanTech and able to achieve unparalleled targets in terms of cost and durability. The rechargeable battery technology is based on cost-effective materials, such as zinc and manganese, which are safe and abundant in nature. The patented device comprises a zinc anode, a manganese dioxide (MnO2) cathode and an aqueous solution as electrolyte. The technology developed delivers breakthrough properties:
• the battery is able to perform more than 5000 cycles of charging and discharging, with a capacity loss < 5%.
• The innovative and patented cathode material provides the battery with high energy density.
• The low-cost materials used (Zinc = 2.5 €/kg, Manganese = 1.7 €/kg vs. Lithium = 15÷17 €/kg, Cobalt = 51 €/kg, Vanadium = 16 €/kg, Nichel = 10.2 €/kg) and the simple architecture leads to a target Cost of Production (CoP) and a market price much lower than competing technologies.
• Materials used are non-polluting and fully recyclable, reducing the end-of-life impact and the carbon footprint (4 kg of CO2,eq emitted per kg of TT-Battery vs. 12.5 kg/kg due to Li-ion batteries production). TT-Battery will be the first Green Battery on the market.

In order to industrialize and commercialize the technology, Tuscan Tech needs to:
• manufacture and test a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for utility-scale and large Renewable Energy power plant application, in order to validate on the field the technology performance;
• certify the product;
• industrialize the technology, protecting the new intellectual property generated and launching the technology to prospective investors;
• develop and implement the go-to-market and commercialization strategy.

Work performed

The SME-Instrument Phase 1 project constituted the first step towards the achievement of the above-mentioned targets and was focused on the following main activities:
1. Selection of the MVP and its preliminary design;
2. Definition of the business model and of the go-to-market strategy, development of a 5-year Profit & Loss forecast and of the SWOT / Risk Mitigation analysis;
3. Update of the market analysis for the utility scale stationary application and Energy Service Companies sectors;
4. Definition of the work plan and budget for the Phase 2 project;
5. Supply & Value chains definition, meetings with key partners;
6. Customer Validation
7. IPR analysis.

The main results achieved are summarized in the following:
• the market framework is extremely favorable. The battery systems for stationary applications is a multi-billion booming market which will reach 100 - 167 GWh in 2030 at least from 11 GWh currently installed (2017 data).
• Tuscan Tech structured a TT-Battery Business Model strategy based on a dual approach: Corporate Venture and Licensing. The partner selected for technology industrialization will manufacture and realize the first full-scale industrial plant in 2021 and the full commercialization will start from 2022, firstly in Europe, then in USA, China, South America and Australia.
• A complete Bill of Material and Cost of Production (CoP) evaluation has been performed. The learning curve will allow to reach the CoP target of 150 €/kWh when 1.000 battery packs are produced.
• A draft of the Phase 2 project budget and workplan has been provided.
• Value and supply chains have been defined and studied. The main suppliers have been contacted to fix the supplying cost for MVP fabrication. Key technological/financial partners have been engaged.
• Customers have been contacted and met.
• A preliminary Risk Analysis has been performed and a Risk Mitigation strategy developed to demonstrate how the TT-Battery initiative will manage its risk profile.
• Key Stakeholders for TT-Battery promotion and dissemination, for product certification and for IPR protection have been identified.

Final results

\"TT-Battery is the first Green Battery in the market, representing a revolutionary approach for the Stationary Energy Storage sector since it is the first product able to reach simultaneously unparalleled price, performance and sustainability goals. TuscanTech will penetrate the stationary energy systems market with a breakthrough product much more competitive that other solutions (Pb-acid, Li-based, NiMH and Vanadium redox technologies). By SME-Instrument initiative, TuscanTech will perform the last technological steps and will validate \"\"on the field\"\" a Minimum Viable Product prototype, in order to demonstrate the technical-economical feasibility. Then, TuscanTech will select big manufacturing companies to close agreement on a royalty basis and to increase the productivity coherently with the market needs.
TT-Battery market success would lead to: 1) the increase of Renewable Energy penetration beyond the current technical limit of 25%; 2) the improvement of electrical networks and of the power power plants efficiency.
From a preliminary assessment, a TT-Battery market penetration of 3 GWh/year will allow a reduction of CO2 emission in the order of 80 ktons/year.
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Website & more info

More info: https://www.tuscantech.it/.