Xerion Advanced Battery Corporation is continuing to work on mass-producing a new battery technology from its offices in the University’s Research Park.

The technology, called StructurePore, was developed by a University of Illinois professor Dr. Paul Braun and his research team, Braun Research Group. Batteries using StructurePore are able to fully charge cell phones and other electronics in less than a minute.

After almost a decade of work, the research team solidified the technology in late 2010. Braun invited University alumnus John Busbee to Champaign to co-found Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. at the Research Park so the technology could be commercialized.

“Given the tremendous potential of the technology, I left my position as Program Manager of Nanotechnology in the Materials Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory to co-found the company,” Busbee said.

He said Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. hopes to become a domestic manufacturer of lithium-ion single-cell batteries, which can be used in a variety of electronic products, including cell phones.

The cutting-edge battery has a different electrode structure than other batteries currently on the market. Electrodes are the components in a battery responsible for storing electrical energy.

StructurePore begins with a template of an electrode, composed of tiny glass or polymer spheres. Then, the template is filled with metals that surround the spheres, creating a three-dimensional structure. After the template of spheres is removed, the three-dimensional porous structure is filled with conductive metals.

With batteries currently on the market, metals grow as a two-dimensional film on a surface, Braun said.

Because of the porous quality of the new electrode structure developed by Braun’s research team, lithium ions necessary to charge a battery can move more quickly through the battery, charging it much faster than the current battery structure on the market. Although the new technology can charge a battery faster, it will not impede the function of batteries in products as they function now.

Braun and his team knew from previous research that the new battery technology might be possible.

Dr. Huigang Zhang, a senior scientist with Braun’s group, said he and Braun initially tried to apply the 3-D electrode structure for a different project but soon found that it had other potential.

“The battery using the unique structure was a byproduct of my research in photonic crystal for thermal emission,” Zhang said. “Since we found that the battery with the structured electrode showed super high discharge rate, we all agreed that there is a great opportunity for pushing forward the battery technology to a higher limit.”

If the higher limit of the battery is successful in commercialization, the University will receive royalties to cover the costs of patenting the discoveries. After paying the patent costs, the profits will then be divided between members of the Braun Research Group. 

Janelle can be reached at [email protected].