News
The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Awards a $175,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Wasatch Ionics LLC
[August 10, 2023]--Wasatch Ionics has been awarded a Phase I contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
The company, led by Mr. Javier Alvare, is partnering with Dr. Dean Wheeler at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah to work on the development of a battery technology to improve the energy density storage capacity of handheld radio batteries used by the US Military. This new battery technology will reduce the number of times warfighters must switch batteries during missions and reduce the weight of carried items during missions.
Wasatch Ionics, founded by Mr. Alvare, specializes in novel battery chemistries, energy storage solutions and new materials.
The Department of the Army Awards a $173,000 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract to Wasatch Ionics LLC to work on the development of "High Energy Density Reserve Lithium-Oxygen Batteries with Integrated Chemical Oxygen Generation"
[September 28, 2022] – Wasatch Ionics LLC has received a Phase I STTR contract from the US Department of the Army to develop high energy density reserve Lithium-Oxygen batteries with integrated chemical oxygen generation. The company is partnering with Dr. Dean Wheeler from Brigham Young University on this project.
Lithium-oxygen batteries offer the highest known theoretical energy density of all existing lithium metal batteries. Our novel high surface area/high mesopore volume fraction oxygen cathode electrode maximizes discharge capacity by providing a large storage capacity for lithium peroxide, while enhancing oxygen diffusion and electrolyte wetting. Using internally generated high pure oxygen enables the fabrication of a self-contained and hermetically sealed battery design. This innovative design eliminates the adverse effects of moisture, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, present in batteries where oxygen is sourced from air.
Mr. Javier Alvare, President of Wasatch Ionics, stated that "this technology is expected to deliver a reserve battery with a significant improvement in energy density, compared to today's commercial lithium thionyl chloride liquid reserve batteries".
More information is available at the following link: https://business.utah.gov/innovation-center/wasatch-ionics-awarded-u-s-army-rd-contract/
The US Department of Energy Awards a $250,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Wasatch Ionics LLC
One of 158 Grants Totaling $35 Million Nationwide to Support Scientific Innovation and Clean Energy Development
[January 6, 2022] -- U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm today announced that Wasatch Ionics LLC will receive $250,000 as part of 82 Department of Energy grants totaling $100 million to 68 small businesses in 24 states, including projects relating to wind turbine and wind farms, improved battery electrolytes, solar generation of hydrogen, and upcycling of carbon dioxide, along with a wide range of other efforts.
“Supporting small businesses will ensure we are tapping into all of America’s talent to develop clean energy technologies that will help us tackle the climate crisis,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE’s investments will enable these economic engines to optimize and commercialize their breakthroughs, while developing the next generation of climate leaders and helping to build a sustainable future to benefit all Americans.”
Through the SBIR/STTR program across the federal government, small business powers the U.S. economy and generates thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly, the DOE notes. DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards aim at transforming DOE-supported science and technology breakthroughs into viable products and services. The awards also support the development of specialized technologies and instruments that aid in scientific discovery.
Wasatch Ionics LLC will receive $250,000 to investigate a novel low temperature hydrometallurgical-based recycling technology for the recovery of high value metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Wasatch Ionics will work, in collaboration with the University at Buffalo-The State University of New York, in the design and synthesis of a new family of environmentally friendly solvents that enable the extraction and reduction of the spent battery containing metals in a single processing step, significantly improving the existing LIB recycling schemes.
“We are extremely excited and honored to be selected to work on a LIB recycling project that helps to conserve natural resources and saves a considerable amount of energy, otherwise spent in the mining and refining of new battery materials”, said Wasatch Ionics President, Javier Alvaré.
More information about all the projects announced by DOE today is available at the following link: https://science.osti.gov/sbir
The Department of the Army Awards a $256,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Wasatch Ionics LLC to develop a 3D printed reserve micro-battery architecture on the chip
[July 16, 2021] – Wasatch Ionics LLC has received a Phase I SBIR contract from the Department of the Army to develop Novel Miniature Reserve Batteries on the Chip. The Army has an increasing need for microscale reserve battery systems that can be integrated into electronic devices, sensors, and other power consuming components of munitions. These micro-battery systems must be able to operate in the harshest outdoor environments over a wide temperature range, be ready on very short notice with fast activation times, and must have extremely long shelf lives. In this project, Wasatch Ionics will develop a novel scalable reserve micro-battery architecture based on Direct Ink Writing (DIW), a type of 3D printing technology. This methodology can fabricate complex 3D objects via digitally controlled deposition of solvent-based inks directly onto a substrate with microscale precision. The reserve microbattery device will incorporate a fast activation mechanism, based on the use of a superhydrophobic structured membrane, that enables the separation of the electrolyte from the battery electrode materials, by capillary forces, until battery activation is triggered.