A company based in Vancouver is investing $3 million to help Waterloo Engineering professor Zhongwei Chen develop silicon-based batteries with the potential to have a huge impact on the global market.
The deal with Newtech Power Inc. will allow Chen, Canada Research Chair in Advanced Materials for Clean Energy and a chemical engineering professor, to expand his team of graduate students and secure essential research equipment.
Greener, cheaper and more energy-efficient than traditional batteries, the next-generation lithium-ion rechargeable battery being developed by Chen could be on the commercial market in the next three to four years.
In the automotive field, the innovative battery could enable electric cars to travel up to 500 kilometres on a single charge. Demand is also growing for better batteries for consumer electronic devices.
Chen is one of three professors at the University of Waterloo recently named to the prestigious College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada.