UK battery technology company OXIS Energy will receive a £3.7-million investment from the Brazilian private equity fund Aerotec, paving the way for OXIS to open a subsidiary in Brazil. The agreement provides for a Brazilian team to be trained at OXIS Energy’s headquarters in Oxford, as well as the creation of an R&D center in Belo Horizonte.
OXIS will focus on commercial expansion throughout Latin America, and plans to explore lithium deposits in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The company is evaluating the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) chemistry of the graphene products available in the state.
OXIS was established in 2005, and is based at the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, where the original lithium-ion batteries were first developed. The company has developed its technology around sulfur-based cathode materials, stable electrolyte systems, and anodes made of lithium metal and intercalation materials. It claims that its Li-S battery chemistry achieves considerably higher energy density than lithium-ion alternatives, and that it is more eco-friendly, as it contains no rare earth metals.
Source: OXIS Energy