Thinfilm Announces First Multi-Cell Solid-State Battery

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Thin Film Electronics ASA, a developer of ultrathin, flexible, and safe energy storage solutions for wearable devices and connected sensors, announced significant progress in device manufacturing and packaging innovation in support of its premium microbattery products based on solid-state lithium battery ("SSLB") technology.

To enable ultra-compact, energy-dense, milliamp-hour-class batteries, Thinfilm has successfully demonstrated the first multi-cell battery based on its SSLB technology. By stacking and encapsulating multiple layers of active cell materials deposited on Thinfilm's unique stainless steel substrate, Thinfilm can flexibly scale energy storage capacity within the compact footprint required in applications with constrained form factors.

Innovations in steel-substrate cell stacking are essential to creating solid-state battery products for hearing aids, earbuds, on-body sensors, and other products prioritizing size and shape. By overcoming packaging limitations that have previously prevented wider use of solid-state technology, Thinfilm is expanding the technology's many benefits to previously unaddressed markets.

Thinfilm's consolidated manufacturing environment in Silicon Valley continues to accelerate technology and product development cycles and has led to ongoing improvements in device yield, reliability, and performance of the critical materials responsible for energy storage and charge cycling. As a result, Thinfilm's battery development engineers have recently implemented and validated multiple process integration and materials advancements in the Company's on-site, fully functional, and scale-ready flexible electronics factory.

Based on continued positive feedback regarding the advantages of Thinfilm SSLB technology, the Company has broadened its engagements with leading manufacturers of wearable devices and connected sensors. Substantive conversations with a growing list of prospects have validated Thinfilm's stated market priorities and led to the incorporation of meaningful customer feedback in the Company's SSLB roadmap and technology development priorities. For example, recent success in multi-cell stacking reflects the prioritization of energy-dense batteries suitable for integration into form-factor-constrained applications such as hearing aids, earbuds, and medical devices. Improved cycling counts, compared to legacy lithium-ion batteries, address the long-term reliability needs of devices requiring daily charging. Enhanced output currents enable reliable Bluetooth LE transmit performance needed to communicate on-body vital sign sensor data to a companion smartphone.