SCIENCE

Water, air and aluminium

A nano-tech Indian startup, Log 9 Materials exhibited a car, Ranger that has a metal air battery made up of aluminum and water.
23 December, 2018
Electric vehicles are claimed to be eco- and user-friendly. However, they turn out to have one obvious problem: lithium-ion batteries that are used to run a car has to be charged for 4-5 hours every 100-150 kilometers.
The nano-tech start-up Log9 Materials, founded by IIT Roorkee alumni Akshay V. Singhal and Kartik Hajela is working to solve this problem. "We are used to refueling a car so the new technology has to revolve around that easy consumer experience," says Hajela.

The 25-year-olds have developed an innovative 'metal air battery' that generates electricity by itself.
Image: Economiс Times
"Our technology runs on water, air and aluminium," says Hajela. After 300 kilometers, the car needs to be refueled with water and after 1,000 kilometers the aluminium plates in the battery have to be replaced. There are no emissions and the energy generated is completely clean. Also, water, air and aluminium are sustainable raw materials. In fact, the metal can be recycled after it's replaced. Another big advantage is there will be no need for huge investments in charging stations. Log 9 is using Graphene to make the batteries commercially viable and economical.

Image: graphene-info.com
The three-year-old company already has a working prototype of the battery. Next goal is to make it compact so it fits in the boot of the car.

"We are currently looking for funding. Once that's done we can commercialize it in the next 16-18 months," he adds. He claims that the cost will be at least 50 per cent less than electric vehicles.

Log9 is also working on metal air battery for stationary devices such as generators. The founders had started Log9 Materials with the aim to develop products using carbon allotrope graphene in the market, which has been hailed as a wonder material. In spite of recognizing its superior properties most of the products have remained in labs because of the high cost associated with graphene's manufacturing process.