[CES 2024] Water-Based Batteries and Plastic Made from Coffee Grounds... 'Eco-Friendly Innovation' by K-Startups

Fire-Safe Water Battery
New Plastic Material with Strong Properties That Decomposes
Korean Startup Continuing Eco-Friendly Innovation

At this year's world's largest electronics and IT exhibition CES 2024, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), an important topic is the eco-friendly industry. Korean startups leading innovation toward carbon neutrality are confidently competing in the global market. Behind their innovation is the support from large corporations such as Hyundai Motor Company and POSCO.

Now Making Batteries with Water... Cosmos Lab Targets the ESS Market

On the afternoon of the 10th (local time) at 'Eureka Park' (a startup-focused exhibition hall) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Cosmos Lab exhibited its so-called 'water battery (zinc-bromine secondary battery)' that uses water as an electrolyte. Cosmos Lab is a startup supported by Hyundai Motor Group's open innovation platform 'ZER01NE'.

Lee Joo-hyuk, CEO of Cosmos Lab, is explaining the 'water battery' at 'Eureka Park' in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where CES 2024 is being held. Photo by Jeong Dong-hoon

Lee Joo-hyuk, CEO of the company, stated, "Cosmos Lab's water battery is inexpensive because it does not use rare minerals such as lithium, nickel, or cobalt," adding, "Existing lithium-ion batteries use organic solvents with low flash points as electrolytes, making them prone to catching fire, but our battery uses water as an electrolyte, which has no flash point, making the possibility of fire or explosion close to zero." Since it is made by combining common minerals zinc and bromine, it is inexpensive and free from supply chain issues. Zinc has abundant reserves, and bromine is extracted from seawater. It is easier to obtain than rare minerals like lithium, making it economically advantageous.

The energy density is low. The energy density of an NCM822 (nickel 8, cobalt 2, manganese 2 ratio) battery is about 240Wh per kg, while the water battery is about 100Wh per kg. CEO Lee said, "Although it has not yet achieved the energy density of lithium-based batteries, making it difficult to be installed in electric vehicles, it is sufficiently applicable to ESS (energy storage systems) or UPS (uninterruptible power supplies)." Cosmos Lab has supplied water battery samples to Samsung Electronics and Naver Labs. It also has eco-friendliness. Existing battery electrodes emit a lot of carbon dioxide, but the water battery uses palm shell waste, resulting in low carbon dioxide emissions. Currently, Cosmos Lab aims for mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Rebirth of Coffee Grounds and Rice Husks... A&Poly Evolves Plastics

A&Poly, which won the CES Innovation Award this year, developed a 'bio-plastic' called nanocellulose by utilizing organic waste resources such as coffee grounds and rice husks. This new material can be widely used not only in plastics but also in batteries and medical fields. A&Poly's CEO Noh Sang-chul created this material while working as a research professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering at POSTECH and founded the company in 2017. It is growing with support from POSCO's startup nurturing center, 'Changeup Ground.'

Noh Sang-chul, CEO of ANPOLY, is explaining nanocellulose at Eureka Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where CES 2024 is being held. Photo by Jung Dong-hoon

Nanocellulose is strong and lightweight, non-toxic, and biodegradable. Since it does not use petroleum as a raw material and utilizes organic waste resources, it is harmless to the human body. Bio-plastics have properties similar to conventional plastics but decompose into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms after a certain period, returning to nature. According to a report by the global research company 'Grand View,' the global bio-plastic market size rapidly grew from about 1.5 trillion KRW in 2016 to 10 trillion KRW in 2019 and is expected to reach about 32 trillion KRW by 2027.

Noh Sang-chul, CEO of A&Poly, said, "The nanocellulose market is expanding beyond plastic replacement to high value-added advanced industries such as bio and batteries," adding, "Winning the CES Innovation Award is a recognition of both the market potential of nanocellulose and the company's technological capabilities." The company was also selected as one of Forbes Asia's Top 100 promising companies in August last year.

The company plans to actively promote collaboration with global companies following this award. CEO Noh said, "To enter overseas markets and collaborate actively with global partners, we completed the establishment of a US corporation in October last year," adding, "By the first half of next year, we plan to increase production capacity to 1,000 tons, about 10 times the current level, by establishing a new factory in the Tech Convergence Industrial Complex in Pohang, Gyeongbuk."