When it comes to changing the way consumers think about powering golf carts and other lightweight NEVs (neighborhood electric vehicles), a job typically left to highly toxic lead-acid batteries, Galenfeha, Inc. (OTC: GLFH) isn’t content to just rest on the superb performance laurels of their lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP) technology. The company maintains a lasting commitment to developing systems that are environmentally sustainable, in addition to going above and beyond the technical and logistical demands of their clients and target markets. Currently a hot ticket item for the NEV space, the company’s proprietary LFP technology, which has also been successful in the high-capacity standalone power supply unit space for oil and gas drilling operations – who require long-lasting, robust performance and extremely safe function, even under high temperatures and vibrational forces – may one day emerge as a leading contender in broader applications as well.
NEVs have emerged in recent years to fulfill an increasingly diverse set of roles and, far beyond just golf carts, which are now used for a wide variety of mobility functions. This growing sector sees action in mining, light-haul, and even military applications, like souped-up NEVs for getting around a base. However, the typical lead-acid batteries used in such applications represent a serious environmental risk, as a single improperly disposed of lead-acid battery can contaminate more than 25 tons of municipal solid waste if it is simply thrown in the garbage. Consequently, the lead-acid battery recycling industry is also classed as one of the most pollutive on earth.
The standard lithium-ion batteries in use by the vast majority of small electronics today, like cell phones, laptop computers and digital cameras, have a similarly pollutive environmental risk factor, cobalt. Lithium-cobalt oxide (LiCoO2, or LCO) batteries, like the kind produced by Panasonic for use in powering the vehicles of world-renown EV maker (and now the largest consumer on earth of lithium-ion cells) Tesla, pose an environmental risk due to cobalt production and potential for improper disposal. Tesla has worked out most of the kinks here, but the broader LCO sector hasn’t, leading many analysts to increasingly question just how green LCO technology really is. The EPA has identified cobalt as posing a significant environmental risk. Cobalt doesn’t entirely break down in the environment, instead it can bioaccumulate and build up to toxic levels in tissues like the heart, kidneys and liver, as well as in skeletal system tissues, where it has been found to produce tumors in animals.
Cobalt is flagged as a potential human carcinogen by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). LCO batteries run a substantial risk of overheating and outgassing, a problem Tesla largely solved for their own vehicles through ingenious proprietary compartmentalization and cooling technologies. However, there is a sizeable health risk that underscores the environmental impact of industrial plant pollution. Cobalt gets into the atmosphere at such industrial plants and settles in the food and water supply, leading to abnormally high levels in some industrial areas, with as much as 0.61 micrograms per cubic meter in the air, 107 micrograms per liter in the water, and up to 40 micrograms a day of intake from consumed foodstuffs previously observed in EPA studies.
An Abt Associates 2013 study on the potential long-term impact of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles done for the EPA, showed that not only were batteries using cobalt, nickel and solvent-based cathodes the highest risk for both negative health and environmental impacts like ecological toxicity, but that the increased electrical grid capacity needed to charge lithium-ion batteries for EVs contributes a great deal to increasing climate change factors. Daunting concerns, especially when you look at a recent report by Navigant Research forecasting that the lithium-ion market, driven in large part by EV production, is on track to hit $24 billion by 2023. Tesla is building a $5 billion Gigafactory to produce enough cells to continue the growth of the company’s car manufacturing as well as fuel the home-based storage and backup solution (Powerwall) currently in design. The time has come to take a closer look at the underlying long-term impact of lithium-ion electrochemistry, the drawbacks of LCO, and the potential benefits of LFP.
The thermal stability of the iron cathode in Galenfeha’s LFP batteries prevents overheating, and because the batteries create no gas when charging, they are extremely safe overall. More importantly, iron phosphate, other than being used to control snails and slugs on food crops, is not harmful to humans, other organisms, or the environment. In fact, iron phosphate is a common human nutritional supplement that is often added to foodstuffs like bread, milk and pasta in order to nutritionally to fortify them, and it is designated GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the FDA. Galenfeha’s batteries are capable of delivering as much as 40 percent higher usable voltage in high-demand applications than lead-acid batteries and manage to resolve a substantial portion of the lower energy density concerns that have kept this technology in the backdrop of the lithium-ion space for years. Beyond overcoming most energy density problems historically considered the main reason to opt for LCO over LFP, Galenfeha’s batteries also exhibit enhanced benefits of LFP, with the company’s proprietary adaptations, like their Battery Management System (BMS), playing off the inherent advantages of LFP electrochemistry.
Advantages like an ability to maintain a charge longer, discharging less than 10% per year when left dormant, better power density (rate that energy can be drawn), and a much longer lifespan that is increased further by a BMS designed to keep the individual cells healthy, and protect them from overcharge. In fact, the beauty of LFP technology, especially advanced designs like Galenfeha’s GLFH-30 (30AH 12V), GLFH-40 (40AH 12V) and GLFH-120 (120 AH 12V), is that over the life of the unit, they actually rival and eventually surpass LCO batteries when it comes to energy density. Moreover, the extremely consistent discharge voltage mentioned above (which allows for a consistently high voltage output until the battery is exhausted), combined with a higher current or peak-power rating than LCO, a much lower rate of capacity loss (even when it just sits there), and a 90 percent charge efficiency that effectively lowers the overall charge time and electricity bill, means that on the whole, Galenfeha’s LFP technology helps cut down on the environmental impact from electricity generation.
Who knows where such innovative LFP technology might one day lead us? Perhaps to a very bright future indeed, especially if other innovators like Tesla decide to push the state of the art in iron phosphate cathodes, instead of just managing the drawbacks of LCO and going after the higher initial energy density benefits. At any rate, GLFH is committed to moving the ball down the field and doing so in an environmentally friendly manner, every step of the way.
Learn more about the company by visiting www.galenfeha.com
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