AM Batteries, the leader in dry battery-electrode (DBE) technology, has been recognized in TIME Magazine's list of the Best Inventions of 2024. The company was named under the Manufacturing and Materials category for its unique Powder to Electrode™ dry-coating method. The list, compiled annually, features 200 extraordinary innovations from around the world that are helping to change our lives.
AM Batteries technology replaces the traditional solvent-based slurry-coating methods used to make electrodes. The AM Batteries process sprays dry active material directly onto current collectors to form a battery electrode. This eliminates the need for toxic solvents and energy- intensive dryers used to evaporate the solvents from the finished electrodes. As a turnkey equipment supplier, AM Batteries enables battery manufactures to produce batteries that are both cleaner and cheaper while eliminating toxic solvents.
"It is an honor to be included in this years' TIME Best Inventions of 2024," says Lie Shi, CEO of AM Batteries. "AM Batteries vision has always been to enable cheaper and cleaner batteries. To be included in TIME's list validates the work that our team and partners have done to shape the future of the battery industry."
Since AM Batteries technology eliminates solvent recovery and electrode drying, it can reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of a battery plant by more than 40%. When considering just electrode manufacturing, the savings can reach a whopping 75%. Additionally, it reduces CAPEX by up to 40% and OPEX by over 50%. While AM Batteries is optimized for materials currently used in today's battery production, it is also enabling tomorrow's Na-ion and solid-state chemistries.
Unlike other electrode-manufacturing technologies that can only make thick or thin electrodes, the AM Batteries process enables battery producers to make the right energy vs. power optimization choice.
In compiling this year's list, TIME solicited nominations from TIME editors and correspondents from around the world in the fields of healthcare, AI, green energy, and more. TIME then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.
Of the new list, the magazine's editors write: "The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions (and 50 special mention inventions) – including the world's largest computer chip, a humanoid robot joining the workforce, and a bioluminescent houseplant – that are changing how we live, work, play, and think about what's possible."
