What happened to EVionyx? Where can i buy?

Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
30
Location
Lowell Massachusetts
Evionyx supposedly makes high cycle life electrically rechargeable zn-air batteries. Their flagship product is supposedly a unit that is both electrically and mechanically rechargeable. It can be recharged either in situ or by removing a rack of anodes and placing them into a fast charger (NOT by re refining). supposedly 12 volts nominal 80 amp hours and weighs under 2.5 kg or about 400 wh/kg also claiming 3C discharge.

The company opened a small factory and r&d center in New York, USA in 2005 iirc, and then opened another factory in Taiwan in 2007, finally opening a large mass production complex in 2009, also in Taiwan.

I can't find a source ANYWHERE. Where can i buy them in small volumes? The company website claims they are cheaper up front than thundersky cells and intends to eventually make them almost as cheap as lead acid. If this claim is true I may someday be seen on an ebike with a 48v 80 ah pack made of the aforementioned modules.

Rechargeable batteries with zinc based anodes ARE real. there are patents going back to the 1970s that describe a zinc anode alloy specifically a calcium zinc alloy that oxidize into a completely insoluble and therefore stable Calcium Zincate complex instead of the normal slightly soluable zinc hydroxide that changes shape and diminishes capacity rapidly. these were assembled into real cells and tested. the results were little short of miraculous. Instead of lasting less than 50 cycles the new cells increased in capacity over the first 100 cycles and tapered down slowly and predictably for the next 600 to 800 cycles.

According to Professor Ziyad Salameh of the Massachusetts battery evaluation lab the very early Evercell NiZn batteries used these anodes. In a very stupid cost saving measure they returned to pure zinc and tried to extend cycle life with electrolyte additives, the new cells were useless paperweights after only 100 cycles. his lab owns several dozen of these (the evercell nizn) batteries in 12 volt packs in group 31 size and claims the preproduction samples cost $1000 usd per 12 volt module, and dropped to $350 per module when sold to the general public. He also insists evionyx batteries are indeed being sold but never told me exactly where, saying i could find a seller online.

Safe reliable Bifunctional air cathodes with good cycle life have existed since the 1980s but usually required large amounts of platinum. Evionyx says they have an even better performing air cathode that uses much cheaper metals and is non toxic.
 
Interesting find, my worst fear is that they were a mostly legally legit business pulling a Chevron/Cobaysys, but the company is not owned by a large fossil fuel business so they would have no reason to do so. The zincate spinel anode patents have long expired (in the USA patents last for 5 years with an option to extend to 17 years if the inventor pays an extra fee to the patent office) so it should be relatively easy for another company to legally start cranking them out. I just am wondering why not and when will a company mass produce a zn air battery using said technology. My professor says several companies have an electrically rechargeable zn-air product out but the cycle life is only 200 cycles instead of the 700+ evionyx claims. on top of this each cell has two air cathodes; one for charge one for discharge. This drops the energy density to little better than lifepo4. None of these companies in question sell direct retail to consumers or have a dealer in the united states. I recall a claim from the 1980s that a 600 to 1000 cycle life expectancy zn air cell with nearly 400 wh/kg and 1200 wh/l had been made but it used so much platinum that a 500 mile car battery alone would cost more than 3 entire gas powered midsize sedans. It was claimed that if a cheaper cathode were made it could be produced for cheaper than lead acid but at the time such an anode did not exist and was not expected to be made until after 2000, so the project was canceled.
 
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