The race for new technologies is always a heady one. Which company will get there first is the excitement for most individual researchers and engineers. Breakthrough technology, however, does not always come in one ‘eureka’ sort of event. It is usually a series of events that ultimately leads to a cascade of events resulting in a new optimized process. Finding a company that is further along in the cascading process is a sure way to profit.
China Sun Group High Tech. Co., an anode materials manufacturer, works to provide base materials for lithium ion battery manufacture. The company holds multiple intellectual property patents for the manufacturing processes of these base materials, and is considered the second largest producer of such materials in China.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dalian Xinyang Hi-Tech Development Co., China Sun Group has longer-term plans to develop a fully integrated, vertical lithium cobalt manufacturing facility directed toward lithium oxide battery production and other cobalt oxide products. It currently operates three manufacturing lines: a 1,500 t/yr cobaltosic oxide production line, a 1,000 t/yr. cobalt oxide production line, and a 500t/yr. ternary anode production line. Although each production line is a critical step in the manufacture of lithium ion batteries, owing to the refining processes required to achieve the benefits of lithium ion batteries, it is the equipment that refines the cobalt into its required forms and purities that gives the company advantage in the lithium ion battery marketplace.
Having developed and tested its proprietary processes and equipment, the company feels that it has an advantage in the race to improve battery technology for many current applications needing increased battery life and performance. In this regard, the company has applied for, and received, international patent consideration for the equipment needed to move forward with its vertical manufacturing plans.
The sheer size of the market and need for improved batteries throughout the industrial and consumer marketplace is staggering. The race for a better battery is akin to the search for the holly grail in many business circles. In the past, many have claimed to break through the barriers keeping successful new battery technologies from being commercialized, but have ultimately failed in the end. The often-heard phrase of “close but no cigar” may well apply.
China Sun Group does appear to be on the verge of providing a better battery and has brought many new concepts to bear in this race for a better battery. Even if the new battery is not the breakthrough the industrial world is looking for, it certainly will place the company in a solid profit position as it reaches its vertical manufacturing goals for lithium ion batteries and other cobalt applications.
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