Pleione Energy is an International Joint Venture between the Greek company ADAMANT COMPOSITES LTD and the German company OMNIDEA-RTG Gmbh, which mission is to develop and provide state-of-the-art technological applications for the energy and space sector. At the GRAPHERGIA project, this partner is leading our Work Package 3 (WP3) ‘LIB cells design and assembly using laser-scribed graphene-based anodes’.
In this interview, Dr. Athanasios Masouras, Chief Operating Officer at Pleione Energy, Mechanical & Aeronautics Engineer, PhD., explains to us how Pleione Energy is leading the development of graphene-based lithium-ion batteries (WP3), but also actively participating in WP5 ‘Design, manufacturing and testing of representative technology demonstrators’, by leading the demo case #3 that is related with the applications of graphene-based lithium-ion batteries to battery modules for low earth orbit (LEO) small satellite applications.
Keep reading to discover more!
Why did you join the GRAPHERGIA project?
GRAPHERGIA aims to investigate how graphene materials will transform the European energy market in the specific industry fields such as aeronautics, space, smart textiles, etc. Pleione, as a company that is involved with the development of graphene-based energy storage devices such as lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors since 2015, is always interested to explore novel, sustainable and cost-effective graphene production processes that will have a beneficial effect in the whole material value chain and also offer to the European energy market strong independency.
What does your organisation bring to the project? Can you describe your role in GRAPHERGIA?
Pleione focuses on the development, design and production of cost-effective products and applications for energy conversion, distribution and storage using enabling graphene technologies that can benefit both the industry and society at large. The primary application field is the design and development of advanced storage systems through the application of nanotechnology. Based on our previous high experience in advanced materials and nanotechnology, along with extensive research experience in the energy and aerospace sector, the team behind the company aims to contribute to the development of significant technological breakthroughs within the framework of GRAPHERGIA. GRAPHERGIA offers a great opportunity to investigate the beneficial properties of graphene and its nanohybrids on energy storage devices based also in a sustainable process such as laser processing of bio-based precursors.
What expectations do you have for the project from your personal/organisational perspective?
Pleione Energy’s expectations through our participation in GRAPHERGIA are summarizeded in our ambition to take advantage of the proposed novel concepts and processes for graphene-based materials deployed in GRAPHERGIA that can impact all the segments of the LIB value chain such as supply of raw materials, electrode manufacturing process, cell assembly and recycling. The impact can be as high as almost 2/3 of battery cost relates to supply of raw materials and electrode fabrication. The laser-based solid-state, solvent-free electrode fabrication will lead to cost reduction, enhancing the competitiveness of our technology.
Which impact will GRAPHERGIA have on industry and society in the short and long term?
GRAPHERGIA aims to offer a new generation of improved eco-designed, low-cost wearables with numerous applications in various IoT-related sectors: personalized healthcare, sports, fashion, gaming, and communication, as well as safer and more durable graphene-based energy storage cells. The success of GRAPHERGIA will lead to advance the competitiveness of the European industry in the emerging value chain of smart clothing and the rapidly growing area of energy storage systems. Europe is leading in the research and development of 2D materials, and projects like GRAPHERGIA help to the maintenance of Europe’s leadership in the field. GRAPHERGIA also supports growth and competitiveness in the materials, smart clothing, and battery industry, by offering European SMEs important competitive advantages.
How do you see the power of graphene materials transforming the European energy markets? What benefits can it bring to science, economy, and society in general?
Graphene holds immense promise for transforming various sectors, including energy markets in Europe. More specifically in the field of energy storage, graphene-based batteries could revolutionize energy storage due to graphene’s properties, such as excellent electrical conductivity and fast charge-discharge rate capability, which make them ideal for mobile (EVs, aerospace applications, etc.) and stationary energy storage from renewable energy sources. Graphene can enhance also solar cell efficiency, increasing energy generation from solar panels.
Also, in other fields relatively close to the energy sector, graphene-based transistors operate more efficiently, leading to enhanced performance and reduced energy consumption. In general, graphene drives fundamental scientific discoveries in materials science, physics, and chemistry, especially in the sectors of energy as described, and also in the fields material science and composite materials structures by bringing multifunctionality aspects with the integration of powerless sensors or by the multiple enhancement of several properties of the final material or structure. Graphene and other 2D materials that are based on graphene open a whole new world in terms of scientific research and a whole new economy with beneficial societal results, such as new products in multiple aspects of our daily lives, and a lot of new companies, such as Pleione, that offer new high paid job positions. All these aspects of graphene at the end contribute to the economic growth, technological leadership, and competitiveness of Europe.
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