PHOENIX, March 25,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ALPP), a leading operator and owner of small market businesses
announced today that its subsidiary, ElecJet, has released
specifications on third-party testing of its AX Class of
Solid-State Batteries.
ElecJet, earlier this month, engaged the Battery Innovation
Center (BIC) in Newberry, Indiana
to have a third-party verification of the specifications of its AX
Class of Solid-State Batteries that ElecJet has already confirmed
in its laboratory. ElecJet has engaged the BIC to verify the
results of the G-AX Class as well, later in 2022. The AX
Battery Class is a Ceramic Oxide solid-state battery and comes in
the form of a 31Ah Solid-State Battery and a 10Ah Solid-State
Battery. All of the AX and G-AX Classes are true
solid-state batteries and are not semi solid-state
batteries.
ElecJet engaged the BIC to perform several types of testing from
verification of its charge capabilities to energy density / power
density, to induced failure point testing.
The BIC tested two versions of the AX 31Ah. These two subclasses
are designed for different market segments.
- The AX-01 is an ultra-safe version that can withstand a variety
of survivability use cases. The AX-01 has a slightly
different material composition that enables its amazing
survivability characteristics. The BIC confirmed that the AX-01
withstood being punctured, then folded, and finally crumpled while
still holding a charge. The cell was then put through a
temperature destruction test where the cell survived to a
temperature of 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 degrees Celsius).
Details of the tests are described below:
-
- Nail Puncture Test: The AX-01 was punctured by a 3mm diameter
nail. The nail was left inside the battery, purposely causing the
battery to short, of which it did for over an hour while being
suspended in the air. The battery's temperature fluctuated but
would hover at around 98.6°F (37°C) near the end of the hour with a
maximum measured temperature of 101.76°F (38.76°C). After, the
battery was lowered back on to the metal surface for the nail to be
removed and the battery quickly returned to room temperature.
One amazing feature of the battery was that during the
entirety of the test, the AX-01 was holding voltage and remained
functional. Note: Traditional lithium batteries would
instantly catch on fire and go into thermal runaway the moment the
battery was punctured.
- Fold/Crumple Test: After the puncture test, the AX-01 was
folded over its long side (AX-01 is a long rectangular shape) by a
mechanical actuator. After it was folded to the point that both
ends were touching each other, the battery was attempted to be
folded over again by its short side. After being folded with as
much force as the mechanical actuator could press out, the battery
remained functional throughout the entire process and remained at
room temperature. Note: Standard lithium batteries would normally
catch on fire after being folded at even a small angle.
- Thermal Heat Test: The battery was placed in an oven and the
oven would slowly and constantly increase in temperature to test
the battery's heat exposure breaking point. The temperature of the
battery was brought up to 428°F (220°C) before thermal runaway
occurred creating a new BIC record. Once the battery eventually
caught fire, the fire was unlike other thermal runaways where a
battery spews a stream of fire from a concentrated point, but
rather was much more contained to the surface area across the
battery. Note: Typical lithium batteries would have a thermal
runaway at 266°F (130°C) and the previous highest recorded
temperature before thermal runaway on cells of similar capacity,
with fielded chemistries, at the BIC was 302°F (150°C).
The BIC confirmed that the AX-01 measured a discharge energy of
111.41Wh at a C/2 rate (measured 31.70 Ah)). At a nominal volume of
0.17571 Liters for each cell and a nominal mass of 0.395 kg, this
translates to 634Wh/L and 282Wh/kg of energy densities which are
both dramatic improvements over current battery technology.
* The AX-01 also has a designed commercial cycle life of over
1,200 charge cycles.
- The AX-02 is an energy dense cell that also has a high degree
of survivability but trades some of the safety material features of
the AX-01 for much higher power densities and higher life
cycles.
The BIC confirmed that the AX-02 has the capability to charge
at 4C. This means that the battery can fully charge in just 15
minutes. The AX-02 is also capable of 7C discharging and over 2,400
life cycles, both of which are currently in the process of being
confirmed by the BIC.
The BIC also confirmed that the AX-02 measured a
discharge energy of 113.213Wh at a C/2 rate (measured 31.4 Ah). At
a nominal volume of 0.17571 Liters for each cell and a nominal mass
of 0.395 kg, this translates to 644Wh/L and 287Wh/kg of energy
densities which are both dramatic improvements over current battery
technology.
*The AX-02 also has a designed commercial cycle
life of over 2,400 charge cycles.
Kent Wilson, CEO of Alpine 4 had
this to say, "I want to thank the BIC and their talented staff
of engineers for their testing work on our AX Class of Solid-State
Batteries. While traditional lithium battery cells such as
the Tesla 4680 or the Panasonic 21700 have taken lithium-powered
cells to new heights, they have reached their technological
limits. Further, while other solid-state battery companies
have accomplished fast charging like ours, they typically trade-off
longevity or how much energy a battery can store. What shareholders
and potential customers can take away from the BIC results is that
the AX Class of Solid-State Batteries are the perfect balance
between energy density (how much energy the battery can store), its
C rate (how quickly it can charge) and its cycle count (how many
times a battery can be charged). The AX31Ah-02 is the best
all-around battery cell in production and ready to transform
various industries including the EV and power storage markets.
Vehicles from companies like Tesla, Lucid, GM, Ford, and RIVIAN all
use traditional lithium cells. If their vehicles were powered
by our AX31Ah-02, they could charge in 15 minutes, store more
energy for longer duration trips and have battery cells that can
power their vehicles for over 300,000 miles before the battery
would require replacement. There is no better way to say this
than these batteries don't just change the game, they redefine it,
and we are hitting the ground running."
Danny Marshall, the Battery
Innovation Center's Lead Testing and Evaluation Team Engineer,
commented: "I am extremely impressed with the performance
of this battery cell relative to other cells that we have tested at
BIC. Somehow, its energy density exceeds some of the best NMC
technologies that BIC has tested while being solid state and
maintaining comparable C-Rate performance. From an EHS testing
perspective, it has been shown to maintain stability under some
amazing abusive conditions in contrast to the fielded lithium-ion
chemistries that we see today. I am excited to continue testing and
characterizing the abusive/performance specifications and see if we
can find where the engineering tradeoff will be, assuming it
exists."
*Tested only in our laboratory still waiting results from the
BIC. This process takes several months to complete.
About Elecjet: Elecjet specializes in developing super-fast
charging, graphene battery solutions that offer convenience in the
palm of your hands. For the past 11 years, our research and
development team have been committed to advancing our products'
charging performance and battery life.
https://elecjet.com/
About the BIC: The Battery Innovation Center (BIC) is a
collaborative initiative designed to incorporate leadership from
renowned universities, government agencies, and commercial
enterprises. The BIC focuses on the rapid development, testing and
commercialization of safe, reliable and lightweight energy storage
systems for defense and commercial customers. The BIC has worked
with such customers as Solid Power, Bright Volt, Fisker, Rolls
Royce, Du Pont, Valvoline, LG Chem, UL, GE Global Research and
Cummins to name a few.
https://bicindiana.com/
About Alpine 4 Holdings: Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. (ALPP) is
a NASDAQ traded conglomerate that acquires businesses that fit into
its disruptive DSF business model of Drivers, Stabilizers, and
Facilitators. At Alpine 4, we understand the nature of how
technology and innovation can accentuate a business. Our
focus is on how the adaptation of new technologies, even in
brick-and-mortar businesses, can drive innovation. We also
believe that our holdings should benefit synergistically from each
other, have the ability to collaborate across varying industries,
spawn new ideas, and create fertile ground for competitive
advantages.
Four principles at the core of our business are Synergy.
Innovation. Drive. Excellence. At Alpine 4, we believe
synergistic innovation drives excellence. By anchoring these
words to our combined experience and capabilities, we can
aggressively pursue opportunities within and across vertical
markets. We deliver solutions that not only drive industry
standards, but also increase value for our shareholders.
Contact: Investor Relations
investorrelations@alpine4.com
www.alpine4.com
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information
in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
information disclosed in this press release is made as of the date
hereof and reflects Alpine 4 most current assessment of its
historical financial performance. Actual financial results filed
with the SEC may differ from those contained herein due to timing
delays between the date of this release and confirmation of final
audit results. These forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to uncertainties
and other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements
including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties, including
the uncertainties surrounding the current market volatility, and
other factors the Company identifies from time to time in its
filings with the SEC. Although Alpine 4 believes that the
assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are
reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate
and, as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those
assumptions also could be incorrect. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of
the date hereof, and Alpine 4 disclaims any intention or obligation
to update the forward-looking statements for subsequent events.
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SOURCE Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc.