ENERGY: KULR's out-of-this-world lithium-ion battery tech gains market traction

TECH: Deals Power ‘Record Quarter'

San Diego-based KULR Technology Group Inc. is blowing up with its technology that keeps lithium-ion batteries from, well, blowing up.

In the last two months, KULR (NYSE American: KULR) announced the launch of its CubeSat, SmallSat Lithium-ion battery pack format to

support the NASA space program and launch of Artemis; entered into an agreement to provide its internal short circuit battery safety and testing device to the largest automotive manufacturer in the U.S.; signed deals with a defense contractor and a power tools manufacturer for its SafeCase product; hosted an international meeting of aerospace engineers to develop standards for transporting lithium-ion batteries in airplanes; acquired a company specializing in vibration reduction technology; and reported third quarter earnings 140% over last year's Q3.

“Q3 was actually our record quarter for KULR,” said CEO Michael Mo, adding that the company has no debt, has $16 million in cash and recently obtained funding up to $50 million. “We're well financed, well-funded and have a great customer base.”

Developed by NASA for NASA

Leading KULR's great customer base list is NASA. Co-founder Dr. Timothy Knowles developed KULR's technologies around carbon fiber uses for thermal applications, insulation and transport for NASA and is used in high-profile missions like The Perseverance on Mars and the International Space Station.

KULR helps NASA ensure the safety of battery systems and is one of few companies to achieve the stringent requirements and rigorous testing set forth by the space agency's JSC 20793 Revision D safety standard for crewed space missions. This qualification allows for KULR's products and solutions to be utilized for the Artemis missions and other missions.

KULR will also be marketing the new battery format to customers across various commercial applications and expects to begin accepting consumer orders in Q1 of 2023.

“Our long-standing partnership with NASA to ensure the safety of essential battery systems within the most challenging of environments and conditions has resulted in another breakthrough innovation for the space program and also for commercial EV market needs,” Mo said.

Spaceships to Autos

Although KULR's tech is born out of the space program, the company is now headed in a renewable energy direction and its energy management platform takes a “very wholistic approach” to adding to the electrification of the economy, said KULR COO Keith Cochran.

Beyond designing its own lithium-ion battery packs – the company plans on unveiling one at CES in January – KULR's platform includes offering full thermal analysis of battery cells in a process developed for NASA by KULR CTO Dr. William Walker.

“So we're able to understand a cell and how that cell actually works in a thermal event, what it's capabilities and characteristics are,” Cochran said. “And based on that information, we design a pack for zero propagation – the battery will shut down if there is rupture in the cell.”

KULR is currently in the process of installing an automated battery testing system in the company's 18,000-square-foot facility in Kearny Mesa that will be capable of testing batteries to NASA's standards. Another facility is planned for Texas in the near future, Cochran said. Initial customers for the testing platform include NASA as well as the Department of Defense to test batteries needed in critical vehicles like submarines.

In the private sector, KULR's its internal short circuit (ISC) battery safety and testing device has already attracted “the largest auto manufacturer in the U.S.” as a customer, according to a Nov. 14 press release announcing the deal.

KULR's ISC solution pinpoints and fixes problems leading to battery malfunctions, allowing KULR and its customers to effectively test the next generation of EV batteries and bring safer battery systems to the market in a faster and more cost-effective manner. “We are at the beginning of the electrification movement and it's great to see a global automotive company fully embrace the strategic value of better testing for designing the next wave of EV battery systems,” Mo said.

More Platforms

In addition to advance battery testing, KULR offers a battery management system called CellCheck that looks at the health of each individual cell in a battery pack and reports to a dashboard with a green light for “good to go,” yellow light if there's “a hint something is wrong” and the cell needs to be looked at or services, and a red light if it needs to be taken it out of service, Cochran said.

KULR's latest offering to its platform is KULR Vibe – a tool that optimizes battery performance by reducing vibrations. The technology came to KULR in early October with the acquisition of VibeTech and its AI-driven technology that pinpoints areas where excess vibrations cause a loss of energy. “Vibrations are negative energy for machinery which at a minimum reduces the output potential and in excess can be catastrophic. KULR VIBE removes this concern,” Cochran said. “Precise vibrational control is critical for high performance machines and systems to operate safely and achieve mission success which has been a core focus of KULR since our inception. KULR VIBE technologies can provide performance solutions across aviation, transportation, renewable wind energy, manufacturing, industrial, performance racing and autonomous aerial drone applications.

Transportation Solution

Another technology of KULR's “wholistic” battery platform is SafeCase – a solution for safely transporting lithium-ion batteries by eliminating the risk of explosions or fire from damaged cells.

“Transporting lithium-ion batteries can be dangerous. They are very powerful – many sticks of dynamite in certain cases – so let's make sure we do it safely.” Cochran said.

The SafeCase technology utilizes special carbon fiber materials that batteries are put into and protect surrounding cargo from potential fire or explosion during a thermal runway event from a damaged battery. KULR has three Department of Transportation (DoT) permits for SafeCase to transport defective, damaged or recalled batteries; prototype batteries; or batteries to be recycled.

The SafeCase is permitted to carry up to 2.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of battery – about the size of two e-bike batteries - and KULR is working on a 10-kWh version it hopes to get approval for soon. KULR credits its DoT permit for a deal inked in October with a “top-tier” power tool manufacturer to provide custom SafeCases for transportation of batteries.

KULR is also working on getting SafeCase approved worldwide for use in air cargo applications. Early this month, the company hosted a meeting of the Society of Aerospace Engineers’ G-27 Lithium Battery Packaging Performance Committee to help set a global standard for aviation policy around transporting lithium-ion batteries.