“Crystal batteries”: Theion wants to make rechargeable batteries better and cheaper

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Dhe vision of a CO₂-neutral, clean future runs on batteries. Very many and very powerful batteries. Modern battery technology plays a central role in the energy transition.

Experts from the Federal Ministry of Economics assume that the demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase from today’s 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually to more than 2000 GWh by 2030. So far, however, there have been too few battery manufacturers in Europe. Politicians are trying to counteract this. The federal government therefore has almost three billion euros available for battery cell research and production projects.

But more alone is not the solution. Batteries have to get better – thinks Dr. Ulrich Ehmes, CEO of Theion, a young Berlin start-up that produces so-called “crystal batteries”.

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The company intends to launch a marketable product before the end of this year, a usable battery, or more correctly, a cell. This should be three times as powerful as conventional batteries, but only cost a third. And 90 percent of the energy used in production should be eliminated.

What is Theion’s battery trick?

“The key to success – and in the case of a battery this is high energy density, short charging time, long cycle life and costs – always lies in the material,” explains Ehmes, a mechatronics engineer with several decades of experience as a managing director in industry and in the battery business.

Five substances in particular are currently used for the production of modern energy storage devices: nickel, cobalt, manganese, lithium and graphite. Except for the latter, all metals – which means that the current increase in metal prices is also making battery production more expensive.

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Raw material for vehicle batteries

This is the big advantage of Theion: These batteries are not made of any of the above materials, except lithium. Plus sulfur and carbon. “Both are available in large quantities and at extremely low prices,” said Ehmes in an interview with “Gründerszene”.

Instead of 20 euros per kilo like the mixture of nickel, manganese and graphite, sulfur only costs 20 cents. As a by-product of various industries, it is even something that companies would like to get rid of, says Ehmes. And because it doesn’t have to be mined, a lot of extraction energy was lost.

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The idea of ​​using sulfur is not entirely new. Marek Slavik, co-founder and CTO at Theion, has been researching this for ten years and has tried different approaches at several battery start-ups in Norway and Switzerland in the past. He now brings his accumulated knowledge to Theion.

So sulfur is the main cathode material in the Theion cells. If sulfur were used instead of the conventional materials, but the production method was otherwise retained, Ehmes reports that 20 percent more energy could be stored.

But that alone was not enough for his CTO Marek Slavik, so the chemist came up with the idea of ​​changing the structure of the sulfur so that even more is possible. He melts it so that a crystal is formed: “With sulfur in its crystal structure and a special coating, we manage to store three times as much energy.”

“Many gigafactories built with old technology”

The first cell, which Ehmes says will be ready by the end of this year, will be used in commercial space travel. “You need particularly light components there,” explains the CEO. The challenge then is to scale the first cells in the pilot production plant in order to enter the air mobility sector, i.e. drones and air taxis, a year later.

At the same time, Theion also wants to equip mobile end devices such as cell phones and laptops with batteries. Long-haul planes and e-cars are then on the agenda for 2024.

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Guben, Grünheide and Co.

Do you also want to address the neighbors with the latter? In addition to his cars, Elon Musk also produces the necessary lithium batteries at the Tesla plant in Grünheide near Berlin – lithium without sulfur and carbon.

“It hurts us that so many gigafactories are being built in Europe using an old technology that wastes so many resources, both in production and in materials,” says Ehmes. “It would make more sense to take a battery whose CO₂ footprint and performance is as good as ours.”

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He emphasizes that he would very much appreciate it if Musk knocked on their door and does not rule out going to Grünheide himself with his cells.

However, he knows from experience how things work in the battery industry, which he believes is quite conservative: People only believe what they can see and touch. First he needs his finished crystal battery. Then he can go on a sales tour.

Lukasz Gadowski as financier of Theion

Until then, the company will be supported by investors. The main investor with a mid-single-digit million contribution is Team Global, the technology holding company of founder and investor Lukasz Gadowski. Team Global has already invested in a number of mobility and aerospace startups such as Autoflight, Volocopter, MILES mobility and Archer Aviation.

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Of course, Theion fits in well as a possible means of propulsion for such vehicles. “At a time when the demand for batteries in the industry is rising sharply, but material costs and sustainable procurement are subject to major fluctuations, Theion’s technology comes at exactly the right time,” said the investor in an official press statement. “Once fully ramped up, it has the potential to replace every battery in every mobility device in the world.”

This text comes from a cooperation with the magazine “Gründerszene”. Click on the links, leave welt.de and end up in the articles at gruenderszene.de.

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