RE:RE:Update to Apollon partnership is pretty big newsThanks Aarman4 and developbc.
Apollon is an interesting partner in that they are a research company with very broad technical expertise with Silicon. They provide HPQ with an R&D platform for upgrading their PUREVAP QRR Silicon to porous Silicon to be used in Hydrogen production, Solar panels, Battery anodes, etc. Having them as a partner to tailor the porous silicon to the demands of these various markets, in the same way as Pyro does with the PUREVAP NSiR silicon nanopowders/nanowires for the battery space, is really great.
Not only that, but Apollon will use the cheapest produced high-quality 2N-4N Silicon from HPQ, and upgrade it in a cost-effective manner with their patented electrochemical etching process. This puts HPQ in a position to accelerate the validation of porous silicon in many other applications where Academia/industry couldn’t really test them in scale due to the cost limitations of existing etching processes’ requirement of 9N-11N silicon. Who knows, after Hydrogen production & anodes (& perhaps Solar), HPQ might continue to work down that list of porous silicon applications in my previous post, in cooperation with Apollon, Pyrogenesis, and other industry partners.
By planning to market & sell Apollon’s Gennao H2 (a pretty cool product that can use silicon/chemical powder to make hydrogen, which then feeds into a hydrogen fuel-cell) in North America, HPQ accelerates the revenue growth trajectory of both companies, and further ties them together. It’s a win-win situation.
developbc wrote: Thanks MazerRR as always. Going to be absolutely incredible!
The addition of manufacturing hydrogen by hydrolysis to our collaboration opens up a new and unique business opportunity that could represent a second multibillion-dollar addressable marketfor the PUREVAPTM Nano Silicon (Si) Reactor (“NSiR”) nanopowders.” MazerRR wrote: Today’s update to Apollon partnership is pretty big news IMO:
- HPQ’s partnership has grown with Apollon, in that it is not only a research collaboration between them for production of porous silicon, but now includes Hydrogen and is moving towards the commercial side quicker than anticipated with the distribution & sales agreement of Apollon’s Gennao H2 system & powders in North America. There is now an excellent chance HPQ is generating revenue by this year, much earlier than previously expected (the start of Gen2 NSiR or mid 2021).
- HPQ and Apollon will explore the technical & commercial potential of using silicon nanopowders made using PUREVAP NSiR & porous silicon nanopowders made from PUREVAP QRR silicon (2N-4N) on the Gennao H2 system.
- HPQ will be sending samples to Apollon of silicon nanopowders to test on their H2 system in December, along with samples to many battery manufacturers & research institutions.
- HPQ and Apollon are also sending porous silicon nanopowder samples to end users (battery manufacturers & research institutions) in December.
- The newest extension of the agreement lasts until Dec 31, 2020, however, I see these agreements continuing after this and also adapting and growing in scope as the PUREVAP family continues to evolve and move closer to commercial readiness (December is a big inflection point for HPQ). The next one should also coincide with a long-term commercial agreement regarding Apollon’s products that use nano silicon such as the Gennao H2.
- Apollon’s research with HPQ to produce porous silicon (wafers & nanopowders) hasn’t been focused on much here, but porous silicon is a HUGE field of study; the applications of porous silicon number far more than just Hydrogen production & battery anodes. Bernard hinted towards a few of these applications in Agoracom interviews.
Here are some of the
Applications of Porous silicon:
Those that Bernard has mentioned:
- Anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries
- Hydrogen generation and storage
- Drug delivery
- Oil spill cleanup
The many other applications being studied for porous silicon:
- Optoelectronics & Photoelectronics
- Acoustics
- Cosmetics
- Electronics
- Solar cells
- Micro-fuel cells
- Gene therapy (including Cancer treatment)
- Chemical and biological sensors (detection of proteins, DNA, pH, drug discovery, single viruses, glucose, arrays for parallel molecule detection & gas sensors)
- Bioimaging
- Bioactive surfaces
- Used as host and template material for fabricating composites & hybrid materials with other metals, semiconductors, organic substances
- Porous-Silicon based microreactors
- Porous-Silicon based Supercapacitors
- Thermoelectric devices
- Explosive devices
If you want to read more about these applications and about porous silicon in general, look into the books: “
Porous Silicon: From Formation to Application, Volumes 1-3 by G. Korotcenkov) or (
Handbook of Porous Silicon,. 2nd edition, Springer International, by Leigh Canham). Most of the applications listed above are taken from those references.