Nanoramic Laboratories is an industry-leading energy storage and advanced materials company that has developed an innovative electrode technology called Neocarbonix. And Nanoramic is commercializing this technology to transform energy storage for electric vehicles: increasing energy density and longevity while reducing costs. Launched in 2009 out of MIT, Nanoramic is the exclusive designer, manufacturer, and licenser of Neocarbonix electrodes, Fastcap Ultracapacitors and Thermexit thermal interface gap filler pads. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Nanoramic chief product officer John Cooley to learn more.
John Cooley’s Background
Cooley co-founded Nanoramic in 2009 and currently serves as Chief of Products and Innovation, focusing on technology development and commercialization. Cooley said:
“I have over 10 years of experience in leading fast-paced product development in electronic systems, power systems, and energy storage devices. At Nanoramic, I’ve led the execution of our first product lines and co-authored multiple winning grant proposals.”
“I have experience in agile product development, IP capture, go-to market strategy, technology licensing and transfer, manufacturing, and program management.”
“I have five technical degrees from MIT including the Ph.D. from the Electrical Engineering dept. At MIT, I won both the David Adler Memorial Thesis Prize and the Morris Joseph Levin Award for my thesis work and was a Martin Family Fellow in 2009.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Cooley’s favorite memory working for Nanoramic Laboratories so far? Cooley reflected:
“Signing our partnership with GM was a fantastic milestone that cemented our narrative arch starting in oil and gas drilling, building technology and revenue and landing finally in clean tech.”
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges you face in building the company and has the current macroeconomic climate affected the company? Cooley acknowledged:
“The capital markets in the past 12 months have slowed progress especially on buildout of manufacturing capabilities and staffing. Prior to that, COVID put on hold the development of several products and also disrupted our company culture and processes. We are just now starting to get back to normal levels of productivity and engagement.”
Core Products
What are Nanoramic Laboratories’ core products and features? Cooley explained:
“Neocarbonix at the Core is an electrode technology that revolutionizes battery manufacturing by removing the most limiting materials from the battery. This creates massive savings and improvements in the manufacturing process, which enables high-performance, low-cost electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a reduced carbon footprint. This is possible by eliminating toxic chemical solvents and fluorinated binders used in conventional batteries. Instead, Neocarbonix uses a hyper-conductive 3D nano-carbon binding structure, which serves both as electronically conductive network and mechanical framework that holds the electrode together.”
“Neocarbonix is a drop-in technology and compatible with existing battery manufacturing equipment and can be applied to all battery types, chemistries, and form factors. This means Neocarbonix’s benefits are possible using today’s gigafactories, while having flexibility to grow with the EV industry.”
“Nanoramic aims to spark mass EV adoption by bringing Neocarbonix from the lab to market. Through this goal, we want to contribute to a greener future, in which EVs are the passenger vehicle standard. Neocarbonix has the power to make this a reality by overcoming a variety of blockers in the EV industry related to performance, cost, sustainability, and more.”
“NX is the best PFAS-free alternative to conventional lithium-ion and dry battery electrodes.”
“FastCap Ultracapacitors are energy storage devices that use a hyper-conductive 3D nano-carbon binding structure, Neocarbonix, to provide high power and energy density in a compact package. FastCap Ultracapacitors are designed to meet the energy storage needs of a wide”
More About Neocarbonix
Could you elaborate more about Neocarbonix? Cooley emphasized:
“Neocarbonix offers a solution to proposed PFAS and NMP regulations.”
“Recently, the environmental and health concerns surrounding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and N-Methylpyrrolidone have garnered significant attention. PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals widely used in various industries and NMP is a solvent used in conventional battery manufacturing.”
“Proposed PFAS regulations from the ECHA could impact the battery supply chain since, PVDF, a binder used in conventional battery manufacturing, is mentioned in the proposal. Similarly the EPA has taken steps to address these concerns and is continuing to evaluate PFAS for regulation.”
“NMP is already on the REACH restricted substances list and its use is regulated in the EU. The EPA determined NMP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health and will next propose a rule to regulate it.”
“Neocarbonix enables batteries without PVDF or NMP, while using today’s battery manufacturing equipment.”
Evolution Of Nanoramic Laboratories
How has Nanoramic Laboratories’ technology evolved since launching? Cooley noted:
“Since founding the company, our vision has always been to innovate in clean technology. The company’s alpha and beta markets have produced its core innovations and also first revenues to support commercialization of the company’s breakthrough battery technology – Neocarbonix – for rapid adoption and scaleup in vehicle platforms.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Nanoramic Laboratories’ most significant milestones? Cooley cited the following:
April 2023:
We recently announced our collaboration with General Motors and strategic investment from GM Ventures. Within this strategic partnership we will work together with GM to develop Nanoramic’s proprietary Neocarbonix at the Core electrode technology for EV lithium-ion batteries.
We will collaborate with GM to take Neocarbonix’s sustainability, performance, and cost advantages to the next level, and accelerate NX’s path to commercialization
Sept 2022:
Last year we sold our thermal interface materials product line, Thermexit, to Henkel, a chemical and consumer goods company in Germany. This was a great demonstration of our ability to bring innovation technology from lab to market.
2018-2020:
We sold our high-temperature ultracapacitor license to Halliburton
2009:
Nanoramic (previously FastCAP Systems) was founded
Customer Success Stories
Upon asking Cooley about customer success stories, he commented:
“You can see in the news our license to Electrochem Industries of our High Temp Supercap product line for oil and gas, our successful sale of the Thermexit business line to Henkel after only 4 years of development, and our partnerships with GM and USABC for automotive batteries.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is Nanoramic Laboratories pursuing? Cooley assessed:
“It’s roughly the entire Lithium-ion battery cell market. That’s over $100 billion by 2027 but the figure increases and the timeline shortens every time you look it up.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Nanoramic Laboratories from its competition? Cooley pointed out:
Neocarbonix eliminates the need for toxic N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent and fluorinated binders, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), used in conventional battery manufacturing. Instead it uses a hyper-conductive 3D nano-carbon binding structure that improves both the electroconnectivity and mechanical properties of the battery. Neocarbonix enables batteries with up to 35%* higher energy density, 27%* lower production costs, and 25%* less CO2 emissions during manufacturing. (Source: Porsche Consulting Cost Report)
Future Company Goals
What are some of Nanoramic Laboratories’ future company goals? Cooley concluded:
“We are determined to become an industry leader in advanced Li-ion battery technology. Our goal is to license our novel Neocarbonix technology to a significant portion of the global conventional Li-ion manufacturing market within the next five years and get designed into EVs. This is supported by our strong business pipeline today which includes major OEMs and battery manufacturers, and will be even more within our grasp with GM as a partner. We firmly believe we are in a unique position to revolutionize the battery and EV industries over the coming years.”
