New HIV infections are trending down in the US, especially among young gay or bisexual men

Source: CNN

TexPower EV Technologies, Inc. – a Houston battery technology startup company – celebrated the opening of their new state-of-the-art 6,000-square-foot laboratory and three-ton-per-year pilot production line, this month, with a special ribbon-cutting event at its Northwest Houston campus located at 6935 Brittmoore Rd., Houston, Texas 77041. The new laboratory will help to commercialize a cobalt-free lithium-ion cathode, lithium nickel manganese aluminum oxide (NMA), that is higher in energy than current commercial cathodes. Cathodes are the most expensive component of a lithium-ion battery and present several other issues that plague the overall performance of the battery.

The event took place at TexPower’s campus, located in Northwest Houston and included tours of the facility, speeches, a ribbon cutting ceremony and networking. Speaking at the event were founders Prof. Arumugam Manthiram and CEO Dr. Evan M. Erickson, as well as Dr. Junzheng Chen the Advanced R&D Senior Director at 24M, a partner who has worked closely with TexPower building ultra-high energy, >500 Wh/kg, cells using TexPower’s cathode material for the Department of Defense. Additionally, local business leaders spoke about the growth and importance of the energy storage industry in Texas.

TexPower is commercializing a cobalt-free lithium-ion cathode, lithium nickel manganese aluminum oxide (NMA), that is higher in energy than current commercial cathodes. TexPower’s NMA cathode works with existing lithium-ion battery components, it is produced with standard manufacturing techniques, and it costs less to produce, all without sacrifices to safety or other performance metrics. Cathodes are the most expensive component of a lithium-ion battery and present several other issues that plague the overall performance of the battery. High-energy commercial cathodes also contain a significant amount of cobalt that is sourced primarily from the Congo, often under poor working conditions, with more than 80 percent of cobalt sulfate produced by Chinese controlled interests. In addition to the cost, performance, and cobalt sourcing issues, over 90 percent of the overall global cathode production is concentrated in Asia.

Beyond enabling domestic research and development of NMA cathode, the three-ton-per-year pilot production line will help demonstrate cobalt-free NMA production at large scale. TexPower plans to use the gained knowledge from its three-ton-per-year pilot line to build manufacturing facility capable of producing up to 50 times more the amount of cathode. The site for the manufacturing facility has already been identified inside TexPower’s Northwest Houston campus. The goal of the manufacturing facility will be to service markets such as defense, power tools, and eVTOL, which will make TexPower profitable. This facility will be directly downsized one tenth the scale for EV markets, so in 2024 TexPower will be well-positioned to pursue the aforementioned markets.