The planned deliverables,data management plan and feasibility study, were successfully completed and delivered according to the original schedule. This comprehensive study encompasses a technical report, an assessment of potential economic, environmental, and societal impacts, an exploitation strategy, intellectual property (IP) strategy, market analysis, business strategy, and a submitted patent application.
In greater detail, the anticipated key outcomes were as follows:
(i) Upscaled manufacturing protocol.
(ii) Production of 1 kg of electrode material.
(iii) Report on the industrial validation of the material produced.
(iv) Market report, including market positioning and competitive landscape.
(v) Business case consolidated into a business plan, to be incorporated in the final feasibility report delivered at the project's conclusion.
(vi) Submission of a patent application and establishment of commercial agreement(s).
Results indicate that outcomes (iv) and (v) were successfully achieved, and a detailed account of these accomplishments is provided in the feasibility report. The patent (EP 20199904.2) was filled with the title “Sulfur-functionalized graphene, and use thereof as Li-S battery cathode”. The owner of the IP is Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci. The patent was filed on October 2, 2021. The search report was returned on March 26, 2021, with a highly positive review. We continued with a PCT filed on May 4, 2021 (PCT/CZ2021/050045). However, challenges were encountered in scaling up the synthesis to the targeted one kilogram scale, resulting in an achievement limited to a few grams only. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance of the upscaled material was found to be inferior to that of laboratory-prepared material.
