Australian battery technology company Li-S Energy Limited (ASX Code: LIS) is pleased to announce its semi-solid-state lithium sulfur (Li-S) battery cells have successfully passed a rigorous series of nail penetration tests with the results exceeding both civilian and US military performance standards.

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The nail penetration tests were performed on multi-layer 2.5Ah lithium sulfur cells built on the company’s Phase 2 micro-production line.

A total of 28 cells were tested, with the cells exceeding the requirements of the civilian UL2271 and UL2580 standards and the US Military Performance Specifications MIL-PRF-32383/4X requested by the company’s aerospace partners.

Nail penetration tests involve penetrating the battery cell with a steel nail under precise conditions in a blast proof test chamber. The purpose is to determine what happens to a battery cell if it is damaged in an accident, or if there is an internal short circuit.

In April 2023 the company announced that its GEN3 semi-solid-state cell chemistry achieved a gravimetric energy density of over 400 Wh/kg, and a volumetric energy density of 540 Wh/l. This is nearly double the gravimetric energy density and comparable for volumetric energy density to current lithium-ion batteries.

Li-S Energy CEO Dr Lee Finniear said: “Amid growing public concern about the safety of lithium-ion batteries and battery fires, delivering a safe battery is vitally important. In our target markets of drones, electric aircraft and defence, a battery fire could be catastrophic, and these results show our partners that Li-S Energy battery cells are safe when penetrated and continue to work even after being damaged.”

Mark Xavier, V-TOL Aerospace CEO, an Li-S Energy technology partner, said these results will have a major impact on the civilian and military drone industry.

“The ability to safely and reliably operate and transport drone technology is heavily reliant on battery stability. The Li-S Energy GEN3 cell nail penetration test results indicate a far better risk profile than current battery technology which I believe will save lives and improve operational performance”.

Li-S Energy is finalising commissioning of a new $AUD10million Phase 3 production facility that will give the company the capacity to produce hundreds of cells per week.

In the coming months the Company intends to conduct a range of additional testing to meet specific partner requirements and finalise cell performance data sheets.

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