Nano-porous silicon powder. This new material has been developed for the anode of Li-ion batteries to increase decapacity, mainly aimed at electric transport. This increase in the anode fits precisely into industry targets to achieve fifty per cent (50%) extra battery capacity. In the case of electric cars, this additional battery capacity translates into a driving range of more than 500 km without adding additional batteries. RGS has started expanding its industrial facility to a GigaWatt (GW) scale, for large-scale supply of E-magy.The material is now available for qualification at industrial customers.

The material is now available for qualification from industrial customers. The capacity improvement withsiliconis needed for the e-mobility market. The huge growthin e-mobility,requiresimprovement of battery technology -which, however, is constrained by battery materials. Replacing the current carbon with silicon in Li-ion batteries is seen as the preferred solution to achieve greater battery capacity. In theory, the use of silicon can increase the anode capacity of a battery by a factor of 10. In practice, the use of silicon is significantly limited due to harmful swelling effects during charging, which limit its lifetime.

E-magy solves the swelling problem. E-magy nano-porous silicon material absorbs lithium ions into its internal cavities during a battery charging cycle, like a sponge absorbs water. In this way, expansion of the anode is prevented, and a capacity increase of a factor of 3 or more can be achieved in the anode. E-magy comes in the form of a powder and can be fitted into existing supply chains and production processes of battery manufacturers at any required rate. By applying its patented "rapid casting" technology, RGS has found a cost-effective and scalable way to produce E-magy powder. "RGS has developed an exceptional process for scaling up micrometre silicon particles with nanometre morphology, which is in line with the next generations of Li-ion batteries.",says Dr ErikKelder, professor of Applied Physics at TU in Delft. "This combination of structures avoids many of the problems that occur with micro or nano-scale particles alone, and preserves the battery's capacity when charging and discharging "