Toshiba Corporation, along with its partners Sojitz Corporation and CBMM, has announced the development of a next generation lithium-ion battery that uses niobium titanium oxide (NTO) in the anode.
Recently, the companies unveiled a prototype electric bus powered with the new battery, which is said to realise an ultra-fast charge time of around 10 minutes and delivers high energy density.
The bus has started testing and demonstration operations at CBMM's industrial plant in Araxá, Brazil., thereby paving way for further commercialization of the new battery technology. CBMM is the the world's leading producer of niobium.
The three companies have vowed to work together to maximize the use of their respective technologies and knowledge toward the commercial launch of the next-generation lithium-ion battery with NTO anode in the global market next year.
Toshihiko Takaoka, Vice President of the Battery Division at Toshiba Corporation commented, "I am very pleased to see an E-bus equipped with our NTO battery, SCiB Nb. In partnership with CBMM and Sojitz, Toshiba has implemented the practical use of niobium in battery material applications with the development of an NTO battery that recharges quickly and delivers high energy density. We will continue the development work to expand our SCiB battery lineup and business".
NTO has twice the theoretical volume density of the graphite-based anode generally used in lithium-ion batteries, which prompted the three companies to sign a joint agreement to explore its potential way back in June 2018.
They subsequently signed a joint development agreement in September 2021 that extended their collaboration to mass production processes of next-generation batteries, mainly targeting application in commercial e-vehicles.
In August 2023, the three companies entered into a broad joint sales and marketing agreement that covered building a supply chain and promoting sales and marketing activities, and subsequently, in May this year, at a ceremony attended by representatives of the Brazilian and Japanese governments, they signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening the supply chain and business promotion.
The NTO battery-powered electric bus was developed by Volkswagen Truck & Bus, Brazil. The prototype will also be tested at CBMM's industrial plant to provide data on the characteristics of the NTO battery and vehicle performance to support any adjustments needed for commercialization.
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