Chalmers Ventures new portfolio firm Sinonus, a spin-out from Chalmers technical college, has employed ex- Maurten and SKF supervisor Markus Zetterström as its new CEO. The corporate’s distinctive carbon fiber materials can retailer electrical vitality, enabling vitality storage in current constructions for a wide range of industries – from EVs to airplanes.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden Markus Zetterström has been appointed CEO of Sinonus, a spinout from Chalmers technical college and KTH, and a part of Chalmers Ventures portfolio. At Sinonus, Markus Zetterström will likely be specializing in commercializing the groundbreaking know-how of carbon fibers that double as battery electrodes, which the corporate is at present growing.
Sinonus has already demonstrated the potential of its know-how by changing AAA batteries in low-power merchandise in its lab. The objective is to broaden the know-how to bigger purposes akin to IoT gadgets, and finally to drones, computer systems, bigger automobiles, and even airplanes.
Carbon fiber is a robust and light-weight building materials that may retailer vitality electrochemically. Sinonus makes use of this multi-functionality to make true carbon fiber-based structural batteries that not solely retailer vitality but in addition turn into an integral a part of the product’s construction. This patented innovation represents a major step ahead in streamlining batteries and the way they can be utilized.
The carbon fiber know-how in Sinonus originates from Oxeon, one other of Chalmers Enterprise’s portfolio firms. The carbon fiber was used within the propeller blades for NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, chosen by the engineering group attributable to their ultralight weight and thinness.
“I’m thrilled to be becoming a member of Sinonus as CEO. The corporate’s revolutionary breakthrough in including the dimension {of electrical} vitality storage to carbon fiber has the potential to be actually transformative throughout a variety of industries. I’m excited to work with the gifted Sinonus group to unlock the complete potential of this groundbreaking know-how,” Markus Zetterström says.
For passenger plane to be powered by electrical energy, they have to be a lot lighter than they’re at the moment. A weight discount can also be crucial for highway automobiles, permitting to increase the driving vary per battery cost.
The batteries in at the moment’s electrical automobiles represent a big a part of the automobiles’ weight with out fulfilling any load-bearing operate. EVs can weigh nearly 50 p.c greater than common automobiles attributable to their lithium-ion batteries, inflicting injury to roads, bridges, and parking garages.
A real structural battery can operate as each an influence supply and as a part of the construction, for instance, in a automotive physique.
“Storing electrical vitality in carbon fiber might maybe not turn into as environment friendly as conventional batteries, however since our carbon fiber resolution additionally has a structural load-bearing functionality, very massive positive factors might be made at a system stage,” Zetterström explains.
The event of structural batteries at Chalmers College of Know-how has proceeded by way of a few years of analysis, together with earlier discoveries involving sure sorts of carbon fiber. In accordance with a examine from the identical college, the introduction of carbon fiber-based structural batteries may improve the driving vary for light-weight EVs by 70 p.c. As well as, the decrease vitality density of structural batteries would make them safer than commonplace batteries, particularly as they might additionally not comprise any unstable substances.
”Along with his prior expertise at Maurten and from main technique and transformation at SKF Group, Markus Zetterström is a invaluable asset to Sinonus. His experience will likely be instrumental in bringing their product from growth to profitable market launch. Chalmers Ventures are enterprise builders, that means that along with funding, serving to Sinonus discover the right CEO matched our technique completely,” says Pontus Ottosson, CEO at Chalmers Ventures.
