EIPC has non-exclusive license and distribution agreements for its S/Cap® RFID tag technology with different companies.  One of these companies has been working with us for quite a while (since March 2013) on a modification (of sorts) to the S/Cap® concept.

This effort has resulted in a series of upcoming products that will be aimed at related, addressable market opportunities that could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly approaching a billion dollars.

The initial customers are overseas governments.  We are working with a partner that has been around the block with these potential customers, has sold RFID-related products to them and is well connected.  They are well-versed in the market.

There are approvals required to sell these products to these government and we have received most (not all, yet) of the authorizations we need.

As we said, this is a huge opportunity and, as you might expect, the competition could be fierce.  And, because of that, we have entered into some rather stringent non-disclosure agreements to help protect our advantage.  This is why this post lacks detail and is so vague and cryptic.

We plan to unveil the products and commence sales next year.  

Short update on lawsuit . . .

A lawsuit involving Enable IPC subsidiary SolRayo, Inc. against Steven Oshinsky was concluded in February with the court awarding a $2.5 million judgment in favor of SolRayo. The Los Angeles Superior Court found that Steven Oshinsky had breached an oral contract with SolRayo and, in addition, “intentionally interfered with [SolRayo’s] existing economic and contractual relationships and misappropriated and disclosed trade secrets to third parties.” The judge also found that Oshinsky “took these actions intentionally, maliciously, and fraudulently and with a purpose and intention of causing severe harm and damage to” SolRayo. Oshinsky  did this personally and through the use of alter ego and front companies, including JMPW Management, LLC and Ram Capital Management Trust as part of his “scheme to damage and injure” SolRayo. $1.5 million against Steven Oshinsky was awarded in actual damages along with an additional $1 million in punitive damages.

Update on nanoparticle materials

Enable IPC's subsidiary, SolRayo, Inc., is wrapping up its National Science Foundation Phase II grant research on commercializing the application of its nanoparticle solution to lithium-ion battery cathodes. 

The company has had some remarkable results. Applying the nanoparticle solution to lithium-ion battery cathodes decreases the degradation of the cathode materials allowing less expensive cathode materials to be used - previously these materials would degenerate too quickly for efficient use. These materials have particular benefits when used in high temperature or high power applications where the increased stress and degradation would normally be more apparent.

The company is completing tests on full cells with materials currently used in commercial batteries.  Although the program is officially ending, work still continues as SolRayo, together with three other entities, aim to make pouch cells which can be cycled at lower rates. The Company’s goal is to optimize the technology for licensing to larger battery manufacturers (i.e., maximizing the nanoparticles' effect on the companies existing cathode chemistries) as well as provide more standard nanoparticle-enhanced lithium manganese oxide materials to a cathode supplier for resale to other commercial battery manufacturers.

On another note, earlier this year SolRayo submitted a patent application regarding certain aspects of the preparation and deposition of the nanoparticle technology.  

Note:

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number IIP-1156229. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

A short update for 2014 . . .

S/Cap RFID Tag Developments

While sales for S/Cap RFID tag products were disappointing for calendar year 2013, Enable IPC announced it is in discussions with overseas partners to produce combined GPS and RFID tags. A growing trend for the RFID industry, combining complementary tracking technologies such as RFID and GPS can provide a company unprecedented levels of supply chain efficiency. A combined GPS and RFID system can add the global tracking benefits of GPS to the locally accurate and detailed tracking provided by RFID. For more information on the benefits of combining RFID and GPS please visit check out our two-part series on combining the two technologies.

Great Results from Nanotech Coated Li-Ion Batteries

Enable IPC subsidiary, SolRayo, Inc., continues its National Science Foundation Phase II grant research on commercializing the application of its nanoparticle solution to lithium-ion battery cathodes. The company has found remarkable results. Applying the nanoparticle solution to lithium-ion battery cathodes decreases the degradation of the cathode materials allowing more powerful cathode materials to be used - previously these materials would degenerate too quickly for efficient use. These materials have particular benefits when used in high temperature or high power applications where the increased stress and degradation would normally be more apparent.

A C-rate (also called a charge rate) is the rate at which a battery discharges/charges. A C-rate of 1C means, theoretically, that the battery charges in 1 hour while 2C means 30 minutes. The company has also found that using its nanoparticle solution to provide superior materials for lithium-ion cathodes also yields longer life at higher C rates.

The company tested commercial cathode materials (i.e., cathode materials -- supplied by a company specializing in battery material supply -- which are currently used in commercial batteries) at 1C and 2C rates at elevated temperatures.  While the material failed quickly at a 2C rate without our nanoparticle coating, it remained fairly steady with our coating.  The figure below shows (in half cell configurations) an average of cells with and without the coating at 50 degrees C at a 2C rate.   These are harsh conditions where many batteries will fail.  Yet, our nanoparticle coating allows the use of a safer cathode in harsh conditions.  Higher C rates and varying temperature continue to be evaluated and characterized, as are configurations with high powered anodes currently used commercially.

2014 . . .

We expect 2014 to be the year we begin selling our nanotech product on a commercial level -- under a license agreement or as a service to cathode suppliers, or both.  We believe this will open the door to some major applications in the energy storage industry.