Interview first published in the March/April 2022 issue of 3D ADEPT Mag and posted online in September 2022. Technical claims, roles and launch plans are those discussed at the time; they are not a statement of current commercial availability.
Founded in 2016, the California company KeraCel became known for its work on additive manufacturing and battery technology. Its rebranding as Sakuu reflected an ambition to develop a platform for multiple types of functional devices, beyond batteries. This interview explores that strategy and the technical challenges discussed in 2022.
From the outset, Robert Bagheri, CEO told 3D ADEPT Media: “Our rebrand to Sakuù, meaning “bloom” in Japanese and “platform” in Arabic, signals a new stage for us as an AM company for all active devices, not just batteries. We’ve kept the name KeraCel™ for our solid-state battery, but we were keen to now position ourselves as an enabler for manufacturers to tackle more complex fully functional devices at high-volume with our agile AM platform.”
The rebranding was followed by patent announcements and reports on battery development. In this interview, Robert Bagheri discusses the company’s aims for solid-state batteries and its multi-material manufacturing platform. Reported development milestones must be distinguished from validated high-volume production.
The focus on solid-state batteries
A solid-state battery uses a solid electrolyte, which may be ceramic, glass-based, polymeric or a combination, rather than the liquid electrolyte of a conventional cell. Solid-state designs can also be lithium-based: “solid-state” and “lithium-ion” are not mutually exclusive classifications. Small specialised batteries and large automotive cells have different requirements.
Potential advantages include higher energy density or changes in safety behaviour, depending on the chemistry and design. Solid-state cells still face interface, mechanical, cycling and manufacturing challenges. They do not universally last ten years or support seven times as many cycles as a conventional lithium-ion cell. Testing conditions and end-of-life criteria are essential to any comparison.
Electrification increases interest in improved batteries, but a battery stores energy rather than producing it. Environmental performance depends on electricity, materials, manufacturing and use. At the time of this 2022 interview, Sakuu’s stated automotive ambitions remained a development goal.
Despite their potential for e-mobility, Bagheri said, “their complex manufacture, especially in the high-volume needed to keep up with demand, means they’re not yet at the stage to be implemented in EVs. Today’s low energy density SSBs are also characterised by thick, brittle ceramic layers and poor interface.”
“SSBs are praised so highly because of how they overcome safety risks that are prevalent in lithium-ion batteries. The fact that they do not use flammable materials enables the implementation of ultra-fast charging technology, without the danger of battery fires. The sooner we can get SSBs implemented into EVs, the sooner common consumer worries surrounding EVs, like range, can be eliminated” Bagheri adds. Those claims should be treated as the company’s assessment. Solid-state batteries are not inherently free from fire or failure risks; chemistry, interfaces and operating conditions still matter. A research review on solid-state battery safety discusses these challenges.
Bagheri argues that additive manufacturing could address some production constraints. The following density and cost comparisons are his claims for the proposed platform, rather than independently demonstrated results in this interview.
“It can deliver twice the energy capacity as we’re packing 1,200 watts per litre in the same volume size. Or if we keep the same energy density, the cost will be halved because the size is halved. And on that important issue of cost, since our platform uses easy to obtain materials, such as ceramic, it’s a lot less expensive for the manufacturer. Locally sourcing materials also reduces reliance on overseas imports which can, as we’ve seen during the pandemic, be unstable. Our AM platform will ensure every single layer is tested, so that nothing is wasted, thereby significantly reducing costs that would come with faulty applications”, he lays emphasis on.
The quotation reports “watts per litre”, a unit of power density, although the discussion concerns stored energy. Energy density would be expressed in watt-hours per litre. The quoted 1,200 figure cannot therefore be treated as a verified energy-density measurement from this interview, and halving a cell’s volume does not by itself prove that cost is halved.
Bagheri describes the platform as multi-material and multi-process, with an intended ability to combine ceramics, metals and a proprietary support material, PoraLyte™. Compatibility and final performance would still need validation for each device and material combination.
“Using a combination of powder bed and jetted material deposition, the platform prints the device in a single layer without the need to assemble externally”, our interviewee points out.
This describes integration during printing, not evidence that every complete device is made in one physical layer or needs no subsequent processing.
The company also described a modular architecture. Available modules and qualified processes would need confirmation for a customer’s application; a possible photopolymerisation module should not be presented as an established option on the basis of this interview alone.
Recycling and environmental claims
The interview also examines Sakuu’s claim of a “100% recyclable” technology. Technical recyclability must be distinguished from an actual collection and recovery route.
Bagheri describes the intended recycling approach: “This powder-to-powder process means that once a KeraCel™ battery is at end of its life, we can reclaim almost all of the materials. Unlike the case with lithium-ion options, there is no requirement to extract graphite and the absence of polymer means no incineration or burial in landfill. All in all, this ensures a recycling process of ceramics and metals that is both cheaper and easier compared to conventional methods” he outlines.
The interview provides no measured collection rate, recovery yield or life-cycle assessment. Materials being supplied as powders does not automatically establish complete recyclability, and the comparison should not imply that conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be recycled.
Moreover, as EVs are at the forefront of the debate to address climate change concerns, Bagheri believes that one should recognize that “they’re not a solve-all, but undeniably will reduce emissions significantly.”
While we may expect a greater uptake among consumers, in parallel with an increased discouragement by governments for fuelled cars, industries should be aware of a few changes that need to be made.
“First, the range of EVs needs to increase – range anxiety is very much a pain-point that remains an issue for many consumers. This is something that e-mobility manufacturers need to look at, especially when you consider that not everyone lives in towns or cities, and so do not have easy access to charging stations. Secondly, the cost of EVS is also an issue; they’re too expensive for many consumers to own, let alone upkeep, which coupled with the range problem makes for an important combination that wields a lot of weight insofar as influencing the buying decision.
Thanks to the way in which Sakuù is addressing these crucial issues, I do think our own technology will support an acceleration to greater uptake by making EVs more accessible” Bagheri argues.
However, although the current focus is made on EVs, let’s recall that Sakuù’s 3D printing platform was intended to enable applications beyond the energy/automotive industries. Other applications include active components like sensors and electric motors for aerospace and automotive; power banks and heatsinks for consumer electronics; pH, temperature and pressure sensors within IoT; and pathogen detectors and microfluidic devices for medical machines, to name a few.
“Microreactors in healthcare for example, are currently quite expensive to make, while Sakuù’s platform has the potential to do it for just a few dollars”, the spokesperson said.
Plans described in the 2022 interview
At the time of the discussion, the technology was not presented as ready to manufacture a complete automotive battery at scale. Future success and manufacturing volume remained objectives to demonstrate, rather than certain outcomes.
In the 2022 interview, Sakuu planned to release its Alpha platform later that year and targeted Beta installations and customer testing during the same year. These were plans at the time of publication, rather than confirmed outcomes or current launch dates.
“We are already working on the higher performance of our platform’s next generation, which is set for release late this year. The possibility with this technology is huge for a variety of industries beyond energy, so what we’re most excited to see is how others use our unique technology and how it could transform manufacturing as we know it”, Bagheri concludes.
This interview has first been published in the March/April 2022 edition of 3D ADEPT Mag.
For context, a separate Sakuu announcement in 2022 explicitly described its first-generation 800 Wh/L lithium-metal cell as non-printed. That result must not be conflated with the printed-battery platform discussed here.
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