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On Wednesday, Alcoa Inc. announced it has entered into a joint development agreement with Phinergy to develop electric vehicle batteries that run on air and aluminum.
Making the announcement at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference in Atlanta, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) said the companies will collaborate on developing new materials, processes and components to commercialize the aluminum-air battery. Alcoa said it expects the new technology can extend electric vehicle range by about 1,000 miles.
Alcoa"s team will be working on the project at the Alcoa Technical Center, in New Kensington.
“Alcoa’s extensive technical materials expertise, along with our deep roots in bringing new products to market in the automotive industry, were of great interest to Phinergy as its revolutionary aluminum-air battery moves from research to commercialization,” Raymond Kilmer, Alcoa"s executive vice president and chief technology officer said in a statement. “Automotive manufacturers are looking for technologies that enable zero-emission cars to travel the same kinds of distances as gasoline-powered cars. The aluminum-air range extender has the potential to meet that challenge.”
According to Alcoa, Phinergy"s aluminum-air battery uses air and water to unleash energy stored in aluminum. The technology creates electric vehicles with travel distances, purchase prices and life-cycle costs that are comparable to fossil-fuel cars, according to Phinergy.
Phinergy said in addition to its use in electric vehicles, the battery technology can be used for stationary energy applications, such as commercial emergency generators for hospitals and data centers, general purposes generators, and defense applications such as mobile housing and unmanned vehicles. Alcoa said it will be working with Phinergy on developing the aluminum-air technology for these applications as well.