CNM Technologies has developed a highly permeable and selective composite membrane with a nanometre-thin carbon nanomembrane (CNM) as active layer,
which will be introduced into the water filtration market for demanding water separation applications. Recently,
Griffin et al.
showed a high proton and lithium ion permeance of CNMs, and
Rajendran et al.
Rajendran et al. demonstrated the increase of the lifetime of symmetrical Li-metal cells by a factor of 2 without thze formation of dendrites.
Combining these findings with the ability of CNM Technologies to produce large-area CNM-composite membranes, a fully new technology is emerging:
the use of ultrathin CNMs as separator membranes or proton exchange membranes (PEM) in battery and fuel cell applications.
Thinner membranes promise a faster and more selective ion transport resulting in smaller, more powerful, and more reliable energy storage devices.
This new window of opportunity will be explored in the EU-funded project
CNergy.