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Firefly International Energy Co.
Inc.
http://www.fireflyenergy.com/
Future : Lead-Carbon = Firefly
(Advanced Lead- Acid Battery)
• Firefly’s revolutionary battery technology was born in the
Research and Development laboratory of Caterpillar, Inc., a
world-renowned manufacturer of heavy equipment
• Caterpillar has long been a consumer of batteries for its many
heavy equipment products. These, by their very nature, put a
severe strain on batteries. Hot and cold extreme
temperatures, severe vibration, and prolonged periods of
disuse are standard operating conditions for heavy
equipment batteries.
• With a new corporate focus on improving batteries, CAT
electronics turned the issue over to their R&D arm.
FireFly “ Carbon Foam Technology ”
(Advanced Lead
Acid Batteries)
• Through material innovation, Firefly succeeded to offer
Higher Efficiency & Cycle life which brings down the total
cost of ownership
• Firefly's goal is to manufacture the lowest-cost-of-ownership,
energy-storage systems in the world
• This revolutionary technology was invented by Mr Kurt Kelly.
He was able to configure the material in such a way that it
thrived in the harsh lead acid chemistry environment
Mr. Kurt Kelley
About the company
• Firefly was started in 2003 by
Kurt Kelley (Technical) & Few
Others
• Kurt Kelley is the inventor of
the technology
• This technology was developed
in the labs of Caterpillar
• Considering the potential of the
technology, Caterpillar spun of
this technology to form Firefly
• In 2010 New Management
bought assets of Firefly
Energy
Lead Acid – Battery Problems
Corrosion
Shedding
Sulfation
Use of Carbon
Cost Effective Solution
as envisaged by Experts
Kurt is a geologist, by training. He wanted to use
carbon for solving the problems of lead acid
batteries in 1998. He found that the Pb acid battery
literature is discussing the same in detail.
Firefly Technology
• Carbon Microcell technology
o Disruptive processes and performance
o Battery design capable of using multiple chemistries
o Utilizing lead-acid chemistry presents greatest gains
o Advanced battery performance for lead-acid costs
o Insensitive to state-of-charge
Firefly’s “Revolutionary” Product
From decades-long use of Lead
Plates with limited Surface
Area…. 30% - 40% Utilization
…To Micro Cellular-based Batteries
with 2000x Surface Area…90%
Utilization
Firefly battery get’s better life
From decades-long use of lead
plates with limited surface
areas…. Low Utilization
To micro-cellular-based Foam
plates with much greater surface
areas… Exceptional Utilization
FF battery has better heat transfer
Traditional Cell
Firefly 3D Cell
Positive Plates
Negative Plates
Internal testing
10
• Infrared images snapped at the end of a 5C
(12 minute) discharge of both a Firefly 3D
cell and a traditional cell.
• More uniform temperature distribution of
the 3D cell
o = uniform current density distribution
o = higher overall active material utilization
• More uniform temperature distribution will
minimize
o localized positive grid corrosion (PCL1)
o localized positive active material wearout (PCL2)
Firefly “Microcell Carbon Foam Technology ”
(Advanced Lead Acid
Batteries)
• The Solution – Firefly: Microcell Carbon Microcell Battery
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increased power density and specific energy over traditional Pb Acid battery
2-3x recharge rate
2-3x the calendar life expectancy of Pb Acid Battery
2-3 times cycle life expectancy of Pb Acid Battery
Manufactured cost equivalent to premium lead acid
New Combination of Off the Shelf Materials
o Up to 12-15% reduction of lead
o Environmentally safe
• Fits into existing lead acid battery infrastructure
o Manufacturing Production
o Customer use
o End of life recycling
Quantum Leap in Performance
FireFly “ Carbon Foam Technology ”
(Advanced Lead
Acid Batteries)
Comparison
Li ion
Carbon Foam
Pb acid batteries (SMF)
Performance
3C
8C
5C
Life (80% DOD)
1000 cycles
1000 cycles*
300 cycles
Discharging Temp Range
-10°C to 60°C
-40°C to 60°C
-20°C to 60°C
Charging Temp Range
0°C to 45°C
-40°C to 60°C
-15°C to 50°C
Self-Discharge
very low
0.15% per day
0.3% per day
PSOC
No effect on Life
No effect on Life
Affects the battery life
Serviceability
Maintenance free
Maintenance free
Maintenance free
Standards
NA
SAE J2185 & BCI : 05
NA
Cost per kW H in $.
600
300
180
* with our BMS
Firefly’s Microcell Carbon Foam technology offers
“Higher Efficiency, High shelf life at Lowest-cost-of-ownership”
The Result : Cycle Life
Objective of Research - Firefly
1) Maximize specific energy (energy storage per
unit of weight, measured in watthours per
kilogram) over designated discharge scenarios
2) Maximize the specific power (power per unit of
weight, measured in watts per kilogram) over
designated high rate discharge scenarios
3) Maximize battery life, not only in environmental
durability but most importantly in cycle life
(number of possible charges and discharges)
4) Do it all at extremely low costs
Problems of Existing Battery Technology
• Service Life
• Cycle life
• Recharge time
• Size & Weight
Technology-Microcell foam based batteries
•
During research Kurt discovered that much of the
lead in the grid structure of conventional batteries
can be replaced by a totally new type of material
•
Carbon was found to have the requisite physical and
chemical properties
•
It was used in negative plate first for optimum
configuration and “architecture” within the battery
itself
The Technology: Potential
As compared to other
energy storage
chemistries, Lead Acid
Battery Chemistry is
currently engineered to
only 20%-40% of its
potential.
Long-Term Firefly
Technology Map moves
Lead-Acid battery
Chemistry to 90% of its
potential.
The Company & Progress: Facilities
53,000 sf facility
Research, Engineering, Manufacturing,
Admin
• $8M+ invested in research lab,
electrical testing, and pilot
manufacturing equipment
o Over 200 battery test channels with full
temperature control
The Company & Progress: Markets
• Military Markets and Aerospace Markets
Batteries currently in use by two defense contractors in military
applications.
Open orders now being filled from US facility
Strong value proposition for the weight savings, safety, cost, and
sustainable capacity of the Firefly technology
• Heavy Hybrid and electric Vehicles
o 30kWh battery pack currently being installed in hybrid
mining vehicle
o Electric locomotive
• Light Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
• On and Off-Grid Energy Storage
o Backup, alternative energy, UPS, load shifting
Application Areas
• Deep-discharge applications in:
– Railways
– Telecom
– Defense
– RVs/ Marine Boats
– Offices
– Residential Areas
– Renewable/Grid Scale Energy Storage
5/20/2015
Oasis Group 31 Specification
• Specifications:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Group 31 Dimensions
Non- Spillable
Weight:
33.5 kg
C/20:
118 Ah
C/10:
110 Ah
RC: 215 min - SAE J537
CCA: 625 A - SAE J537
CA: 800 A
• Cycle Life:
o 600 cycles @ 80% DoD (warranty)
o 702 J-2185 Cycles
o 126 hrs J-930 Vibration
Target market/application for the Group 31 Oasis battery was long
runtime (10 hour discharges) daily cycling applications.
21
Achievements
•
•
•
•
US Army approval for supply of batteries
More than 7 patents in its fold
23 Patent Applications pending
First Major Development since AGM Batteries
In summary,
The 3D cell architecture results in numerous attributes:
• Instantaneous Power (2 hours and faster run-time
rates)
• Fast recharge capability
• Continuous power through discharge process
• Recovery to full capacity after off-season storage
• Excellent cold temperature capacity utilization
• High temperature resiliency
• Recovery to full capacity after discharge
• Higher cycle life
Thank You !