Steady progress or a (Nyo)Bolt from the blue?

The economist Erik Brynjolfsson once wrote that “General purpose technologies drive most economic growth, because they unleash cascades of complementary innovations”. Underlying technologies, though often overlooked, are of fundamental importance. It is hard to think of many technologies that are more general-purpose than batteries (indeed, there is a good chance that you have used a battery-powered device in both your work and personal life already today), and developments in this sector are sorely needed if the transition to a green economy is going to be successful in the next few decades.

One company showing progress in the battery sector is Nyobolt, a Cambridge-based battery technology firm which recently closed their series C funding round and has become the latest in a long line of Cambridge companies to achieve “unicorn” status. Having spun out from the University of Cambridge Chemistry Department in 2019, they have gone on to develop ultra-fast charging and high capacity batteries for multiple applications in the last seven years. 

Working on both the physical properties of batteries, including niobium-tungsten-based oxide and graphite dominant anodes, as well as on battery management systems to control the charging and discharging of the batteries to improve their lifespans, Nyobolt are well placed to accelerate the adoption of the batteries in previously unworkable use cases. 

As reported by my colleague Rhyan Probert two years ago here, one clear application of high capacity, fast charging batteries is in electric vehicles (EVs). A consistent issue with the adoption of EVs has been the time required to recharge the battery of the vehicle when making long journeys. Nyobolt has shown an EV battery which can be recharged from 0 to 80% in less than six minutes, less time than it takes to have a rest break and grab a coffee.

In the last two years, the potential applications for this technology have expanded rapidly, from physical AI in warehouse and factory applications, to supporting the electricity grid and data centre power requirements. As environmental and geopolitical issues with obtaining rare-earth minerals for our devices become clearer, Nyobolt batteries maintaining 80% capacity through 4000 charge cycles is an evident advantage. Furthermore, as renewable energy increases its share in the global energy supply, demand is expected to rise both for storage and for systems that can smooth out input peaks and troughs, and fast response batteries with high capacity are expected to be at the forefront of addressing these problems.

Batteries are a crucial technology for both reducing our climate impact through electrification and unlocking cascades of complementary innovations reliant on fast and reliable power delivery. We are excited to see Nyobolt representing Cambridge at the forefront of these changes in the coming years.