Nanotech Energy, the company co-founded by UCLA faculty members Richard Kaner and Maher El-Kady, has been named the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 Innovation Award winner as the only producer of non-flammable, graphene-based batteries.
The annual CES is the world’s largest technology tradeshow. This year, Nanotech Energy showcased their Organolyte graphene-based batteries which can utilize the non-flammable electrolyte technology that Kaner and his former graduate students Brian McVerry and El-Kady patented. The batteries are considerably safer and higher performing than the industry-standard, highly-flammable lithium-ion batteries that power consumer electronics and electric vehicles, but can suddenly catch fire or explode.
Nanotech Energy was formed in 2014 by Kaner, UCLA’s Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Professor in Materials Innovation and a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and El-Kady, a research assistant professor of chemisty and biochemistry, along with physician-entrepreneur Dr. Jack Kavanaugh, with the goal of moving their research on graphene-based energy storage devices from the laboratory to the marketplace.
