http://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-energy-lego-brick-that-would-increase-tesla-range-by-70

Jill Bederoff  2463

In an exclusive interview published on Business Insider Nordic one year ago, the Swedish queen of batteries, Christina Lampe-Önnerud, finally revealed the technology that she and the rest of the team at Cadenza Innovation have been working on for four years. She described the invention as an energy Lego brick for engineers.

”It’s a new way to package energy. We’ve been able to place the battery cylinders closer together and enclose them in a ceramic capsule with both thermal insulation and fire-proof material. This capsule is placed within an aluminum cylinder to achieve optimal cooling. The solution allows us to get rid of a lot of excess components and store more energy per unit of volume.” She had an example to describe the increased effect: ”If our battery solution was used in a Tesla it would increase the range by 70%, and cost less.” Now, one year later, Cadenza Innovation is celebrating that the whole portfolio of patents is certified and ready to go, and industry interest is larger than ever. Christina Lampe-Önnerud is ablaze.

”We are focusing on getting our solution out there and used through licensing agreements, and for that reason we are a lot more oriented towards collaborating than we were with our past company, Boston Power. We have received a lot of attention from billion-dollar companies that have already taken big steps when it comes to electric transportation and energy storage.”

What companies are you refering to? ”I’ve been lucky enough to be in the right place and have received attention from the industry giants. Unfortunately, all of these companies are listed so I can’t reveal which ones they are. Hopefully, we can reveal this in a year, but we are not really deciding the agenda.”

Considering your statement about Tesla, has Elon Musk been in touch? “We’ve had a number of discussions. But right now Tesla is focusing fully on delivery so it’s not the right time to come with new technology. He’s done a fantastic job and we are on the sidelines cheering. Thanks to our licensing scheme we have the opportunity to take our solutions to many parties, and Tesla is of course one of them.”

A project that Cristina Lampe-Önnerud is more free to discuss at the moment is one taking place in the state of New York. ”The state is working to improve the electrical grid and see energy stores or batteries as a key technology for improving the reliability of electricity in New York City, and simultaneously phase in renewable energy. We are discussing a demonstrative project with the authorities.”

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This article was originally published in Veckans Affärer. Read it in Swedish here. Follow Veckans Affärer on Facebook and Twitter.