Special Report: The addressable market for battery technology to power the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to climb above $US15bn by 2025.

Innovative research company Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) got the market talking this week when it announced plans for an advanced self-charge battery technology.

And SOR’s executive team followed that up this morning with more good news, announcing the go-ahead to immediately escalate development of the patented ink used in the formation of battery cells.

Concurrently, the company announced it has accepted $5.1m in capital from eligible investors in its share purchase plan, after a surge in demand saw total applications reach $6.8m.

The two announcements mark a continuation of the strong run of news flow, which has seen SOR shares more than double over the past week.

 

Hit the accelerator

SOR’s self-charging battery project is run through its subsidiary Australian Advanced Materials (AAM), using battery ink that is developed from AAM’s patented Nanocube Memory Ink technology.

Battery cells created using the ink can generate electricity from humidity in the air or the skin’s surface.

Using that capability, they can self-charge within minutes, with no requirement for any external charging mechanisms.

To fast-track the process, AAM’s research team – in conjunction with the University of New South Wales – plans to produce one litre of ink within the next 4 weeks.

“To provide perspective, 1 litre of Battery Ink has the capacity to produce more than 2000 printable battery cells,” SOR said.

SOR managing director Charles Murphy said the IP and knowledge base required to produce one litre of the ink is a by-product of years of high-level research and development.

“Achieving this within four weeks for the Battery Ink will provide strong evidence of the potential to harness our previous electronic ink experience. It’s an ambitious goal but it’s a challenge the team have taken on,” Murphy said.

In addition, the company has agreed with UNSW to “investigate further Federal Government grant funding opportunities for integration of the Memory, Battery and Circuit electronic ink technologies”, SOR said.

 

Addressable market

Advancing a high-level technology solution for self-charging batteries opens up a commercial pathway for SOR in what is a fast-growing global market.

The manufacturing process will combine AAM’s Nanocube Memory Ink technology with an advanced graphene oxide material.

The product has advantages of existing lithium batteries, which suffer from “flexibility, dimension, weight and safety issues whilst needing a constant power supply to recharge”, SOR said.

The market for advanced battery solutions for wearable IoT devices is expected to climb above $US15bn by 2025.

“The growing need for thin and flexible batteries in IoT and medical devices, along with inherent advantages of micro batteries provides significant opportunities,” the company said.

It all adds up to snowballing momentum for SOR, which operates as a Pooled Development Fund where investors pay no capital gains tax for selling shares under a program set up by the federal government to foster innovation.

Armed with an additional $5.1m in fresh capital, the company said it will deploy the funds to “dramatically accelerate development in current projects and to seek further acquisitions in Australian innovation”.

This article was developed in collaboration with Strategic Elements, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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