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Sakti3
IndustryEnergy storage
Founded2007; 17 years ago (2007)
FounderAnn Marie Sastry
Headquarters
Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
United States
ProductsSolid-state battery
ParentDyson Ltd
Websitewww.sakti3.com

Sakti3, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dyson Ltd., is a solid-state battery company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dyson has been publicly bullish on the technology, and has stated that it is “committed to investing £1bn in battery technology over the coming years, and Sakti3 is an essential and exciting part of that program.”[1][2]

History

Sakti3 is a battery company co-founded by Dr. Ann Marie Sastry, regarded as a globally influential battery technology innovator,[3] in 2007 as a spin-out from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[4] Publications by Sastry and her collaborators have been cited over 6,400 times.[5] She and her former students apparently formed the company; most have remained at the firm, according to a recently granted patent.[6] Work by this group, including Dr. Chia-Wei Wang, Dr. Yen-Hung Chen, Dr. Xiangchun Zhang, Dr. Myoungdo Chung, and Dr. HyonCheol Kim, has been cited extensively (collectively over 4100 times).[7][8][9]

As reported in Scientific American,[10] Sakti3 claimed to achieve 1143 Wh/L in volumetric energy density in its prototype solid-state lithium battery cells in 2014.

In 2015, Sakti3 was invited to the first ever White House Demo Day by President Barack Obama to showcase its innovations.[11]

In 2015, Sakti3 was acquired by Dyson Ltd.[12] They initially paid $15m for an undisclosed stake,[13] this being Dyson's first outside investment. Later in the year, Dyson paid another $90m for the rest of Sakti3. Other investors had included Beringea, General Motors, Khosla Ventures and Itochu.[14]

Technology

Sakti3 has described methods for producing scalable solid-state batteries, using thin film deposition guided by numerical simulations and optimization[10][15] and apparently used multiple deposition techniques.[16]

Sakti3 has been recognized with several technical awards, including MIT Technology Review's Top 50 Most Disruptive Companies in 2012,[17] and MIT Technology Review's 50 Smartest Companies in 2015.[18] In 2014, Sakti3 is named by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of its Most Innovative Companies for its patents on “methods for manufacturing batteries, a solid-state propulsion system and automotive hybrid technology.”[19]

Sakti3 has grown its intellectual property portfolio to 94 patents and patents pending.[1][2] In 2017, it abandoned its licenses of its early University of Michigan patents.[1][2]

Workplace Culture

Sakti3 has been recognized multiple times for excellence in workplace culture. Sakti3 has won the AWE Workplace Excellence Seal of Approval Award for its for “exemplary commitment to building excellent places to work” in 2015,[20] 2016,[21] and 2017.[22] Sakti3 has been named 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2015[23] and 2016[24] for its “commitment to excellence in their human resource practices and employee enrichment.” Sakti3 was also awarded Crain’s Detroit Cool Places to Work in Michigan in 2016.[25]

Criticism

Sakti3 has been criticized for its secretive nature, a trait it apparently shares with its acquirer. Dyson takes great measures to protect its technology and is “as secretive” as Apple.[26] During a tour of Dyson’s facilities, a New York Times reporter observed that “employees remain tight-lipped, even among themselves, about their projects;” “prototypes were covered in tarps while large areas of the open-plan offices were off limits;” and “machinery in some of the research labs was obscured with black trash bags.”[26]

Several months earlier, former employees (who were not on staff at the time of acquisition), have criticized the company. Fabio Albano, Marc Langlois, and Steve Buckingham claimed that the company’s early patents and methods were useless, and that Sakti3 was using an unscalable stacked cell configuration.[27]

Claims made by the company over technological advances as well as its secretive behavior regarding sharing data have been criticized by former employees and media following the acquisition by Dyson.[27] The only independently verified data on Sakti3's prototypes by the United States Department of Energy show a capacity of 2.4 mAh, only capable of powering very small devices.[28] Steve Buckingham, a former employee, has publicly expressed his disappointment with the small area (1 cm²) of the best cell produced. Bob Kruse, formerly GM's most senior electric vehicle executive,[29] stayed on as COO for less than 2 years.[27] In November 2017 Ann Marie Sastry, Sakti3's founder, unexpected and quiet exit from the company stoked speculation that the company oversold their early successes.[30]

Speculation

In an interview by Car and Driver in 2015,[31] when asked the readiness of Sakti3’s batteries for automotive applications, Dr. Ann Marie Sastry responded that Sakti3 would first go to markets where their batteries can meet regulatory standards for the products and pointed out that durability standards for batteries in automotive applications are very different from phones or vacuums.

The company has been praised for staying afloat and ultimately being acquired in a well-documented acquisition, amidst an intense period of bankruptcies in cleantech.[32] It has been pointed out that it takes a decade to invent a new hardware technology, and more than another decade for the invention to reach the hands of consumers.[32] It took James Dyson 15 years and 5,127 attempts to perfect his flagship vacuum.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c "UPDATED: Sakti3 & Dyson Still Rolling". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  2. ^ a b c Charlton, Alistair (2017-04-03). "Out with the old, in with the new: Dyson drops old battery patents in solid state cell push". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  3. ^ Desmond, Kevin (2017). Innovators in Battery Technology, Profiles of 93 Influential Electrochemists. McFarland. pp. 194–197. ISBN 978-0-7864-9933-5.
  4. ^ "About | Sakti". sakti3.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  5. ^ "Ann Marie Sastry - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  6. ^ United States Patent 9,627,709
  7. ^ "Chia-Wei Wang (汪家偉） - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  8. ^ "Yen-Hung Chen - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  9. ^ "Xiangchun Zhang - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  10. ^ a b Fletcher, Seth. "Secretive Company Claims Battery Breakthrough". Scientific American. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  11. ^ "New Details: President Obama Hosts First-Ever White House Demo Day". whitehouse.gov. 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  12. ^ "Dyson buys up rest of 'solid-state' battery company". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  13. ^ "Dyson makes first external investment with move into batteries". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  14. ^ "What Sucked Dyson Into Backing Battery Maker Sakti3?". Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  15. ^ "Ann Marie Sastry | Solid state energy storage: Game-changing technology for the 21st century". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  16. ^ United States Patents 9,127,344 and 9,240,584
  17. ^ Review, MIT Technology. "50 Disruptive Companies 2012 - MIT Technology Review". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  18. ^ Martin, Richard. "Big Prospects for a Small Battery". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  19. ^ "8. Sakti3 Inc., Ann Arbor". Crain's Detroit Business. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  20. ^ "Alliance for Workplace Excellence Announces Annual Award Winners, 2015" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  21. ^ "Alliance for Workplace Excellence Announces Annual Award Winners, 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  22. ^ "Alliance for Workplace Excellence | Awards". www.excellentworkplace.org. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  23. ^ "Metropolitan Detroit's 2015 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® - The Best and Brightest". 101bestandbrightest.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  24. ^ "Metro Detroit's 2016 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® - The Best and Brightest". 101bestandbrightest.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  25. ^ "Cool Places to Work 2016". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  26. ^ a b Scott, Mark (2017-04-02). "Dyson Is the Apple of Appliances (and Just as Secretive)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  27. ^ a b c LeVine, Steve. "Sakti3's quest for a better battery: Hype, funding, promises, and then a surprise sale". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  28. ^ Walker, L. (June 2014). "Electrochemical Performance Testing" (PDF). US Department of Energy.
  29. ^ Filipponio, Frank. "REPORT: Bob Kruse, GM's top electric car exec and Chevy Volt pointman, steps down". Autoblog. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  30. ^ "Battery exec leaves Dyson two years after $90 million buyout". Axios. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  31. ^ "Sakti3: The Next-Generation Battery Company You Need to Know About". Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  32. ^ a b "Why Dyson Just Acquired This Very Savvy Battery Startup for $90 Million". Inc.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  33. ^ "Try, Try Again: Lessons From James Dyson's Invention of the Vacuum". Inc.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
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