Moroccan inventor delivers lecture on lithium-ion batteries
Moroccan scientist and inventor presented a lecture on “Lithium-ion batteries: A key player in the energy transition” at Shiraz University on October 13, 2021.
MSTF Media reports:
Rachid Yazami, professor at Nanyang Technological University and founding director of KVI Holdings in Singapore, gave a lecture on “Lithium-ion batteries: A key player in the energy transition” during the 8th Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP).
He pointed to the current problems with today’s lithium-ion battery and then presented KVI product solutions.
Lithium-ion battery current limitations are lack of enough safety, long charging time, short driving range, and short service life, he said.
“Current lithium-ion battery (LIB) management systems barely prevent batteries from catching fire which is a serious drawback for the future market expansion,” Yazami emphasized.
He said the charging time of LIB is currently “1.5 to 8 hours” which should be reduced “below 30 minutes.”
“The driving range of LIB is currently 170-600 km, which should be increased to 900 km,” he pointed out, adding that “the battery service life is currently 2 to 5 years, which should be extended to 10 years.”
The solutions that Artificial Intelligence provides for enhanced batteries include options such as “rapid charge” which makes possible to safely rapidly charge a battery in 10 minutes without compromising lifespan, he said.
Moreover, according to Yazami, it enables us to “determine SOC”: determining, without destruction, the state of charge (SOC) of a battery in real time; “determine SOH”: determining, without destruction, the state of health (SOH) of a battery in real time; and “determine SOS”: determining, without destruction, the state of safety (SOS) of a battery in real time.
Furthermore, he noted, you can “determine battery life” which means you can calculate battery life; i.e., how many times the battery can be usually recharged. The last feature is that it makes it possible to “extend battery life”—extending the lifespan of batteries.
“My company, KVI, now holds a 60-patent portfolio related to the BMS (Battery Management System) technology,” Yazami said, adding that “KVI has more than 15 owned patents on SOC, SOH, SOS and fast charging.”
“KVI has exclusive licenses with partnering institutions of Caltech, CNRS, and NTU,” he added.
Yazami received his PhD in Electrochemistry and Materials Science from Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG), France, in 1985. He has invented the graphite anode today used in most lithium-ion batteries. Later, he developed the graphite oxide and graphite fluoride cathode materials for lithium batteries, and also metal chloride intercalated graphite materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. Yazami is the inventor of more than 140 worldwide patents, and has published over 250 scientific papers, books, and book chapters. He has received many prestigious awards including Draper Prize (Nobel Prize in Engineering, National Academy of Engineering, Washington DC); “Royal Wissam of Intellectual Competency” awarded by the HM the King of Morocco; and the Medal of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, France. He is the founding director & CTO at KVI Holdings in Singapore which develops disruptive technologies for battery management.
Many scientists and scholars from around the world are gathered in Iran in order to attend the events of the 2021 Mustafa
Prize week, including the Mustafa
Prize Award Ceremony and the 8th STEP. They present lectures on different scientific areas at universities across the country.
