Infinite Power Solutions said Monday it raised $35 million in its first round of private equity funding.

The funding is a sign that investors are looking for new battery solutions a week after Dell’s voluntary recall of 4.1 million notebook computer batteries (see Dude, You’re Getting a Recall, Who Will Batteries Burn Next?).

Who Will Batteries Burn Next?

The $35 million is the first phase of the company’s Series A round, according to Thomson’s PE Week Wire. Investors include Core Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, SpringWorks, D.E. Shaw, Advanced Energy Technology, Dow Corning, and Symmorphix.

Corning

“It’s a pretty impressive list,” said Dan Benjamin, a senior analyst for ABI Research.

The new money brings Infinite Power Solutions’ total funding to $40 million. Dow Corning and UniSource Energy invested $5 million in seed funding in 2003, when Dow Corning and Infinite Power Solutions also signed a joint development agreement to develop a thin-film coating with better protection against oxygen and moisture.

CorningCorning

The Thin-Film Market

Thin-film batteries could potentially deliver as much energy as lithium ions in thin, moldable shapes, a big deal when cell phone manufacturers and other device makers are squeezing more and more features into smaller packages.

According to a Research and Markets report, the thin-film battery market—in trial stage in 2005—is expected to reach 10 billion units and $11 billion dollars by 2012.

Some are more skeptical, however. After all, thin-film batteries have been in development for some 20 years, and have not been successful in higher-power applications so far—despite dozens of press announcements touting impressive capabilities.As a rule, the thinner the cell, the less energy you get, said Brian Barnett, managing director at TIAX, a product development and consulting firm. That means in most applications, such as for mobile phones and computers, thin films don't provide enough runtime, he said. If companies added multiple layers to get enough runtime, they would end up comparable in size to regular lithium ions, he said. "People are now making lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones that are very thin, the limit of what you would want them to be because the volume of the battery is proportional to the energy," he said.Infinite's TechnologyInfinite Power Solutions, based in Golden, Colorado, did not return calls.The company makes LiteStar thin-film lithium-polymer batteries for electronics, detectors and sensors, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, implantable medical devices, and other applications.

Infinite Power Solutions’ web site says the startup’s ultra-thin rechargeable batteries last longer than other batteries, have long shelf lives, and can be recharged more than other batteries.

says the startup’s ultra-thin rechargeable batteries last longer than other batteries, have long shelf lives, and can be recharged more than other batteries.

The thin batteries produce 450 watt hours per liter and 200 watt hours per kilogram, comparable with lithium-ion batteries. They can be recharged more than 60,000 times, and can be made as thin as 15 microns. They are also more moldable, and can be made into different shapes.

Those qualities mean the batteries could lead to cooler-looking devices, said Rob Enderle, a principal analyst for the Enderle Group.

“It can fit in more places,” he said. “Historically, thin films haven’t been as efficient, but the current generation is nearly as efficient as lithium-ion, so the trade-off is much less and that allows thinner phones and much sexier devices.”

‘Should Be Safer’

At least as importantly, at this point, thin-film lithiums could also be safer than lithium ions, he said.

“Right now, folks are concerned that lithium ions might be banned in certain areas; it’s a risky investment right now,” Mr. Enderle said. “Classes of problems might be avoidable with the thin-film battery. The kind of problem they have had with the Sony battery, in particular, doesn’t seem to happen in lithium thin film.”

Sony

At the same high density, smaller batteries with less lithium overall actually have a smaller chance of sparking a fire that would be uncontainable, he said. “They should actually be safer, much safer,” he said.

Mr. Enderle expects thin films will become predominant in higher-end cell phones, mainly because they can accommodate more attractive shapes.

Cell phones don’t contain enough energy to make safety a problem, even with lithium-ion batteries, but nervousness surrounding the batteries—justified or not—could also make consumers favor thin films, he said.

Thin films are also showing up in laptops and are an attractive option for manufacturers making ultra-thin, safer notebooks, he said.

Challenges

To be sure, thin films haven’t been out in the field en masse, so they could have problems that have been undetected so far, he noted.

Cost is also an issue: thin films can cost up to three times as much as regular lithium-ion batteries, he said.

And while Infinite Power Solutions is already producing batteries for such low-power applications as RFID tags, it's unclear whether thin films can really provide enough energy density for cell phones and laptops. A thin film coating the back of a screen would produce far less power than a typical battery pack, for instance, and if you add layers and make them thicker, you lose the supposed advantage of having thin-film technology, Mr. Barnett said.

Infinite Power Solutions also faces significant competition. Companies such as Solicore, Cymbet, ExcellatronSolidState, and Great Power Battery are among those developing thin-film lithium-polymer batteries.

Elk River, Minnesota-based thin-film company Cymbet, for example, says its technology can get up to 300 watt hours per kilogram, up to 900 watt hours per liter, and recharge more than 70,000 times.

Cymbet and Infinite are among many battery companies that have received funding in the last few years as the need for more powerful, longer-lasting batteries has become a pain point for the electronics industry (see Power Shift).

Power Shift

Contact the writer: JKho@RedHerring.com

del.icio.us

Digg this