Charging in minutes, aluminium-ion packs buffer cloud-cover dips and wind lulls to maintain rock-steady electricity for critical infrastructure.
Almost half (46 per cent) of Australian businesses use some form of renewable energy. Although this can help to reduce overhead or operational costs, and help businesses reach decarbonisation goals – renewable energy sources are inherently unstable.
Sudden dips in solar output during downpours or unanticipated wind lulls can result in momentary power shortfalls and frequency fluctuations. Small, commercial and industrial businesses are increasingly relying on battery storage to buffer this instability. But the number of economical, safe energy storage solutions is currently limited.
When lithium hits the heat
Lithium-ion batteries are the most common battery energy storage system in Australian commercial and residential settings alike. But in half of the country – where ambient temperatures regularly exceed 25° Celsius – lithium-ion batteries degrade more rapidly, said Craig Nicol, Founder and CEO of Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG).
“When a battery performs at high temperatures, it can really reduce in performance – it doesn’t store as much energy, and you start to see serious longevity issues.”
To keep lithium-ion cells functioning properly, extra energy must be used on cooling systems, such as refrigerant thermal management systems, to hold them at about 25 °C.
“That’s why you often see a lot of cooling infrastructure, sophisticated temperature-management gear and battery-management systems – all to make sure those batteries remain safe and as long-lasting as possible,” he said.
Effective renewable integration hinges on safe, durable batteries and robust energy-demand management.
“When lithium-ion cells get hot – say 50 °C or more – they can start to overheat, risk thermal runaway and potentially rupture. If the cell breaches and the solvent in the electrolyte in the battery reacts to this, there is a reasonable potential for the battery to catch fire,” Nicol warned.
Safely engineered lithium systems with rigorous battery-management and housing are generally reliable.
“But lower-quality products can lack the necessary rigour,” he said. “I have heard some insurers won’t cover homes or skyscrapers with lithium installations or allow e-scooters because of that risk.”
Current lithium-ion cells, optimised around a single lithium atom chemistry, are performance-constrained and can be costly to manufacture.
“Lithium-ion batteries also need to sit on a charger for about three weeks to wake up, called ‘formation’, which is part of ‘cell finishing’ – representing roughly one-third of the total cost of a lithium-ion battery,” Nicol said.
Al-ion to the rescue
Stepping in to fill this storage gap is GMG’s next-generation aluminium-ion battery.
Aluminium is more abundant than lithium, far cheaper and carries none of the thermal-runaway fire risks.
“Australia is also one of the largest aluminium producers in the world, so when you put all that together, it’s the battery that we should be using,” Nicol said.
This ‘Al-ion’ design leverages three electrons per ion, versus one for lithium – delivering comparable energy density while charging up to 60 times faster. This eliminates fleet downtime and the need to double fleet sizes merely to work around long charge times.
“A big miner, if they were to use lithium-ion batteries, will generally have to wait at least half an hour to charge their equipment,” he said. “We aim with our battery to do it in about five minutes.”
However, the aluminium-ion battery remains in active development.
“The University of Queensland developed the technology around four years ago. We have the exclusive license to develop it and have been working with them since,” Nicol said.
GMG is partnering with many major players, including Rio Tinto, which plans to fit the aluminium-ion batteries into its heavy-haul trucks and other applications.
“We’re at Technology Readiness Level 4, which is electrochemical optimisation,” he said. “We make a number of them every week to test and iterate.”
Partnering with the Battery Innovation Centre in Indiana, GMG aims to scale from prototype to pilot production, with full commercial output by 2027.
Beyond battery power
While advanced storage smooths supply, significant emissions savings lie in wringing efficiency from existing assets. Heat loss in internal-combustion engines and air-conditioning systems bleeds valuable energy – and dollars – from operations.
“Up to 25% of our electricity use in Australia is for air conditioning,” Nicol said. “If we could get more efficiency in demand management, we won’t have to build out the grid as much.”
GMG’s thermal-xr hvac coating system for air conditioning/data centre condenser coils has been shown to deliver 10–30 per cent energy savings by accelerating heat transfer and reducing run-time. The once-only spray also forms a corrosion-resistant shield tested to last more than 20,000 hours of salt sea spray – meaning businesses enjoy sustained efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
Meanwhile, university-verified trials show that blending GMG’s G Lubricant additive into engine oil cuts fuel consumption up to 10 per cent when the engine is at high torque, thanks to graphene absorbing heat and lowering engine oil temperatures. The result is a slightly higher viscosity under heavy load, smoother operation, potential oil-change interval extensions and a proportional drop in CO₂ emissions.
“It basically transfers more heat faster out of the engine, so it’s just more efficient as a result,” he said.
By slicing peak-demand charges and extending asset life, these graphene-based products pay dividends, freeing capital for deeper decarbonisation investments.
Contact Graphene Manufacturing Group to transform your business energy strategy.
