Monash Spin-out success: enyGy surges into the energy storage market

enyGy was established in 2021 to commercialise an invention by Monash Engineering researchers

Melbourne based Australian company, enyGy, has developed graphene technology that enables ultracapacitors to achieve up to double the amount of energy density.

This technological advancement could lead to prospective benefits in a number of areas, including enormous cost savings for public transport systems, enhanced use of personal technology devices and reduced environmental impact.

enyGy was established in 2021 to commercialise an invention by Monash Engineering researchers. enyGy is at the forefront of ultracapacitor technology and is devoted to the development of graphene-based technologies to facilitate production of next-generation energy storage solutions.

As a Monash University spin-out company success story, enyGy is expected to surge into the global ultracapacitor energy storage market, leaping beyond the benchmarks of modern capacitor technologies in the market today.

“Monash continues its commitment to support new energy innovation and commercialisation in the transition to net zero. Ultracapacitors are a key part of this new energy future and advances like this, achieved by enyGy, are paving the way,” said Dr Alastair Hick, Monash University Chief Commercialisation Officer.

Increasing the performance of ultracapacitors is pivotal in the growing energy market which continues to seek out new innovative and environmentally conscious electrical applications. For this reason, graphene has long been sought after as a replacement for activated carbon. enyGy has exclusive access to patents from Monash University covering the preparation of graphene hydrogel membranes and their applications in energy storage areas. enyGy graphene-based electrode films can reduce the size of market leading ultracapacitors whilst maintaining the same energy stored, or increase the energy stored using the same volume or mass.

With future bearing on many of our daily use applications, such as trains, laptops, audio receivers, and power tools, the integration of enyGy graphene technology will lead the way to meaningful social and economic benefits.

enyGy has been able to achieve up to double the energy density by preserving graphene’s
outstanding properties of high electrical and thermal conductivity, and high surface area by finely controlling its structure and chemistry at nanometer scale. The successful implementation of graphene in the electrode film within ultracapacitors presents an extreme challenge, which enyGy has been successful in achieving.

Key inventor of the enyGy IP portfolio Professor Dan Li said that enyGy’s unique strategy achieves graphene-based compact energy storage.

“A unique nano-engineering strategy has been developed to manipulate the individual graphene sheets and to control the inter-sheet spacing and interactions down in sub-nanometer scale. This achieves compact energy storage capability by graphene-based electrode films” he said.

enyGy Chief Executive Officer, Gary Carroll said that “Independent testing has confirmed the performance of the enyGy product”.

The development of this enyGy product over the past 7+ years has resulted in a technology that is ready to move from the laboratory and has the potential to transform the ultracapacitor energy storage industry and its role in our clean energy future.

Monash University is committed to building partnerships to achieve impact - with industry, government, investors and community groups large and small. To learn more about Monash Enterprise, please visit: https://www.monash.edu/industry