Antora Energy Raises $550M for Thermal Battery Deployment in US Industrial and Data Center Markets

Institute of Electrical Engineering, CAS: Progress Made in Low-Temperature Lithium-Ion Capacitor Electrolyte Research, with Energy Density Reaching 8.9 Times That of Conventional Electrolytes According to the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher Ma Yanwei's team recently proposed a "solvation-deshielding electrolyte" design strategy. The team adopted gamma-valerolactone (GVL), which combines moderate polarity, a low melting point, and appropriate coordination ability, as the main solvent, used lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) as the functional lithium salt, and introduced weakly coordinating ethyl acetate (EA) as a solvation-regulating component to weaken the wrapping and shielding effect of the solvent on lithium ions, promote anion participation in constructing the local solvation structure, and form a weakly bound, anion-involved solvation-deshielding environment. This design effectively reduced the desolvation barrier and interfacial charge transfer resistance under low-temperature conditions and improved the stability of the electrode-electrolyte interface. The study showed that all-carbon lithium-ion capacitors prepared with this solvation-deshielding electrolyte still maintained excellent energy output performance at -40 degrees Celsius, achieving an energy density of 106.8 Wh/kg based on the mass of electrode materials, which is 8.9 times that of conventional carbonate-based electrolytes.

[Solid-State Battery Expert Voice: Yang Hongxin Says All-Solid-State Batteries Unlikely to Achieve Large-Scale Popularization Before 2030, Hybrid Solid-Liquid Batteries to See Rapid Penetration Rate Growth First as a Transitional Solution] On September 3, 2026, at the 2026 World Power Battery Conference, SVOLT Chairman and CEO Yang Hongxin stated that liquid lithium batteries will continue to deliver value over the long term, all-solid-state batteries are unlikely to achieve large-scale popularization before 2030, and hybrid solid-liquid batteries will see rapid penetration rate growth as a transitional solution. He explicitly proposed that enterprises should adopt a "hybrid solid-liquid first, then all-solid-state" roadmap to steadily advance solid-state commercialization.

[Solid-state battery expert voice: Yuan Wenjing says solid-state electrolyte is the least mature link, while solid-liquid hybrid batteries are more competitive for industrialisation] From September 3 to 4, 2026, at the 2026 World Power Battery Conference, Yuan Wenjing, vice president of the Research Institute of Beijing Automotive Group, pointed out that solid-state electrolyte remains the least mature link and the one most in need of breakthroughs. Against this backdrop, solid-liquid hybrid batteries, which combine with relatively mature cathode and anode material systems, may instead become a technology route with greater competitiveness for industrialisation and the ability to be deployed first.