During his recent visit to Israel, President Obama met with Bar-Ilan University (BIU) Prof. Arie Zaban, who told the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu about the ongoing improvements of the BIU Aluminum-Air battery for electric vehicles.
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu learned more about the BIU Aluminum-Air battery for electric cars from its developer, far left, BIU Prof. Arie Zaban, Director of BIU’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. They met at the Tech Expo held during the President’s recent visit to Israel. Joining in the conversation was, second from left, Aviv Tzidon, CEO of Phinergy, a startup company that has acquired the technology rights to the battery.
Photo by Kobi Gideon, Government Press Office
Prof. Zaban, Director of BIU’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA), is working with an Israeli startup company, Phinergy, to further develop and commercialize the battery. This BIU project overseen by Prof. Zaban was among those chosen to be displayed at the Tech Expo held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to showcase Israeli technology innovations.
Following the Expo, President Obama was taken to see the Dead Sea Scrolls by the Director of the Museum, James Snyder, who next month will receive the BIU Rennert Center’s Guardian of Zion Award.
Starting in the year 2000, Prof. Zaban and his research group overcame the main obstacles presented by Metal-Air technology through their innovative nano-materials research. In 2008, the technology rights were transferred to Phinergy.
Based on the outstanding properties of the BIU Aluminum–Air battery, Phinergy has recently demonstrated a holistic system that enables an electric vehicle to drive for a record distance of 330Km (three times the current EV distance), at which point continuation for a similar distance requires no more than a “refuel” with water to recover the electrolyte in the battery. Commercial cars using this technology are expected to be produced in 2017.
