Eastman Kodak and Polaris Battery Labs have announced a strategic alliance to provide a complete “go to market” support system for rechargeable battery developers and product OEMs.
Polaris works with early stage developers to optimize the performance of their materials and to produce samples for internal study, investors, and potential customers. As clients prepare to scale up, a Kodak engineer is joined by an expert from Polaris to create a seamless transition to Kodak’s roll-to-roll production and cell assembly facilities at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, NY. The combined capabilities result in significantly shorter time to market and a greatly reduced capital cost.
“This alliance creates a new way for U.S.-based battery manufacturers to go from very early material development activities all the way to full production,” stated Dolores Kruchten, Vice President of Kodak’s Eastman Business Park. “All key capabilities are here; we have laboratories and slurry preparation. Our material analytical tools and capabilities are world-class. We have everything in coating from the lab to pilot to full production. Companies around the country send their batteries to the Best Test & Commercialization Center for testing. Finally, our combined Cell Assembly capabilities include high-volume and small-scale electrode manufacturing as well as cell manufacturing volumes from 10s and 100s to 100s of thousands.”
“With Polaris’ material characterization and prototyping, and Kodak’s roll-to-roll manufacturing and cell assembly capability, we can work with material developers and product OEMs to bring new advances to market very quickly and inexpensively,” Kruchten said.
“From the start, Kodak and Polaris have shared a common vision of helping developers get to market very quickly. We believe that in many cases we can now shorten the development and launch cycles to only a couple of years and possibly even less,” said Doug Morris, CEO of Polaris Laboratories, LLC. “We are also working directly with product OEMs who want a special size or form factor for their cell, or who want to bring a unique benefit to their product via a new material.
Morris said the new alliance puts into place the combined capabilities to:
* Perform initial assessments of new materials in half cell and full cell formats to determine the viability and initial market interest;
* Generate samples for investors, customers, and internal engineering evaluations;
* Produce and prepare cells without having to build and staff a prototype facility;
* Secure a contract manufacturing partner for the roll-to-roll production of electrodes and cells that can greatly reduce the capital costs and expertise needed to advance a new cell to full production in a safe, secure and quality focused environment;
* Protect the intellectual property associated with the new technologies being developed and commercialized.
“Polaris and Kodak have already engaged with several clients and expect to participate in virtually all market segments including consumer products, automotive, grid storage, industrial and emerging wearable markets,” Morris said. “We are quite excited about the impact that this alliance will have on the industry. Our vision to accelerate development and provide US-based support and production is really huge for the industry. I can’t wait to see the impact we have on our industry.”
