Boulder Ionics Corp., developer and producer of electrolytes and electrochemical-grade ionic liquids for advanced energy storage devices, announced that it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, to develop and commercialize the use of pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids in electrolytes for lithium-ion and advanced chemistry batteries.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Boulder Ionics research team will work with CSIRO to develop electrolyte formulations optimized for specific applications. Pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids have been identified by researchers worldwide as among the most promising next-generation electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. The high stability of these electrolytes enables batteries that can work at very high temperatures, high voltages and with next-generation “beyond lithium-ion” technologies like lithium-sulfur and metal-air batteries. Boulder Ionics will use its disruptive, high-throughput synthesis platform to produce high purity electrolytes in commercial volumes at competitive prices.

“CSIRO has been actively researching and developing ionic liquids for electrochemical applications, especially lithium batteries, for 10 years now. By licensing our technology portfolio and developing a strong collaboration with Boulder Ionics, we believe substantial improvements to lithium battery technology are just around the corner,” said CSIRO Research Scientist Dr. Adam Best.

“Securing this license and starting this collaboration with CSIRO will accelerate our commercialization of IL-based electrolytes,” said Boulder Ionics CEO, Jerry Martin. “CSIRO has world-leading capability in ionic liquids and advanced electrolytes; teaming with them gives our firm deep technical capability to optimize these promising materials for specific energy storage applications.”