Big Delta Systems is able to mould batteries.
Big Delta Systems, a spin-out of Rice University, is commercialising technology which allows it to mould batteries into an infinite number of different shapes.
The company’s technology relies on a sprayable form of the positive and negative current collectors, so that the two parts of a battery do not have to be built in separate manufacturing processes. Big Delta uses a transparent thermoplastic, polymethylmethacrylate, to spray the liquid into and have it set into a shape. The thermoplastic is widely available and most commonly used as an alternative to glass, where it is marketed as plexiglas.
The spray-on battery can be applied on a range of surfaces, including actual glass but also stainless steel, tiles or even mugs. Big Delta is now looking towards the wearable devices market, where it sees an immediate need for its technology. Longer term, the company is considering putting its technology together with solar cells, to provide energy capture and storage in the same space.
The company, launched officially in August 2014, has already attracted an investment from a Rice alumnus of an undisclosed size, and is now fundraising for a seed round.
Charudatta Galande, chief executive and co-founder of Big Delta, said: “In the smart watches coming out today, the battery packs in these watches are coin-type batteries or rectangular blocks. You can’t really do much with the shape around it. But with our technology, the battery could be part of the casing or the strap.”
