Planar Energy, a company that develops solid-state, ceramic-like batteries, has received a $4.02m award from the US Department of Energy (DOE), as part of its Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) initiative to accelerate transformational energy research projects.
Planar Energy will use the amount in the development of solid-state, high capacity secondary lithium batteries targeted at transportation scale electrical power-storage applications.
The company added that DOE award will enable Planar Energy to accelerate the development and commercialization of all solid-state lithium batteries, which will encourage the adoption of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles.
Scott Faris, president and CEO, said: ”With our breakthrough technology, which couples a fundamental electrolyte materials innovation with our proprietary low-cost, chemical deposition platform and manufacturing process, Planar Energy is creating cost-effective technology that will enable the US transportation industry to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reestablish US leadership in energy storage.”
Earlier this month, DOE selected Planar Energy to collaborate in a research-and-development initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to address energy-storage challenges presented by lithium-based batteries.