24M, the battery start-up headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., which developed a novel SemiSolid electrode manufacturing process, goes from the pilot phase to commercialization together with Kyocera.

The Japanese company first launched (in June 2019) a pilot production of 24M’s SemiSolid battery technology to validate its use in residential energy storage systems in the Japanese market.

Kyocera and 24M say that the SemiSolid tech improves safety, longevity and lowers cost.

"24M’s innovative manufacturing process delivers market-leading price-performance. SemiSolid electrodes use no binder, mixing electrolyte with active materials to form a clay-like slurry with unique attributes. As a result, the 24M process eliminates the need for a significant amount of inactive materials and capital-intensive processes like drying and electrolyte filling, thus dramatically reducing manufacturing cost."

As the results were positive, now Kyocera is introducing a new line of residential energy storage systems "Enerezza", available in three sizes: 5 kWh, 10 kWh and 15 kWh.

The next step of the promising partnership is to launch a "full-scale mass production" in fall 2020.

"Kyocera Corporation and 24M announced today that Kyocera has formally launched its residential energy storage system, Enerezza, the world’s first system built using 24M’s novel SemiSolid electrode manufacturing process. In addition, Kyocera has extended its commitment to 24M’s unique manufacturing platform with plans to start full-scale mass production in the fall of 2020. Based on the successful pilot, Kyocera recently rolled out its full Enerezza product line — a 24M-based residential energy storage system available in 5.0 kWh, 10.0 kWh, and 15.0 kWh capacities designed to meet diverse customer needs."

We are, of course, most interested in the use of the new batteries, or maybe the new manufacturing process in batteries for EVs, which were also mentioned by 24M. As of today, there is no info about progress on that front.

Toshihide Koyano, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Solar Energy Group at Kyocera said:

“Kyocera and our customers benefit from long battery life, unparalleled safety, and the low-cost approach enabled by 24M’s unique manufacturing process. At Kyocera, we believe that 24M’s SemiSolid technology is the emerging standard for lithium-ion battery manufacturing. We are delighted to be the first company to deliver residential energy storage products using 24M’s novel process.”

Naoki Ota, President and CTO of 24M said:

“Kyocera’s launch of the Enerezza residential energy storage product line marks a significant milestone for 24M. After many years of hard work, our technology is commercially available thanks to our dedicated partner Kyocera.”