Cutting-Edge Manufacturing for High-Performance SWCNTs
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with perfect structure are often considered the “Holy Grail” of the materials world. QuantumCarbon’s founder, Dr. Xinjie Zhang, was one of the first two scientists in the world to grow vertically aligned SWCNT forests in 2004, an important breakthrough in the field of SWCNTs. Since then, he and his team have extensively explored numerous SWCNT synthesis techniques and experimented with thousands of catalysts for SWCNT production, building a deep foundation in the science and engineering of SWCNT production.
This strong technological foundation has enabled us to establish five unmatched SWCNT production advantages: a high nucleation rate, high raw material utilization efficiency, high space-time yield, exceptional product quality, and the ability to scale at low cost. Together, these advantages position QuantumCarbon as a next-generation producer with both technical depth and economic efficiency.
Our technology enables us to offer a commercial price significantly lower than that of the leading commercially available SWCNT product, while delivering even higher performance. This powerful combination of cost-efficiency and technical superiority gives us a decisive competitive edge, further enhanced by our localized production and streamlined logistics capabilities.
In addition, QuantumCarbon leverages a dry purification process that enables the production of ultrahigh-purity SWCNTs with low energy consumption and minimal waste generation. This process represents a clean, efficient, and scalable manufacturing solution, ideally suited for U.S.-based production and aligned with sustainable industrial practices.
Our initial market focus is to establish SWCNTs as the premier conductive additives across high-energy battery systems, including electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage, and robotics. Even at loadings below 0.1%, our SWCNTs form a robust three-dimensional conductive network that delivers dramatic performance gains: up to a tenfold improvement in anode performance, a three to five percent increase in cathode capacity, significantly extended cycle life, and enhanced fast-charging capabilities. Our goal is to supply leading battery producers and major U.S. electric vehicle manufacturers with high-performance SWCNT products at competitive scale.
To support this, QuantumCarbon will implement a phased production rollout. Within six months, we will launch a one-ton pilot production line. This capacity will scale to ten tons annually by the end of 2026, reach one hundred tons annually by the end of 2028, and expand to five hundred tons annually by the end of 2030.
QuantumCarbon is committed to building a U.S.-based SWCNT supply chain that integrates cutting-edge technology, cost leadership, and efficient domestic logistics, paving the way for a leading position in the next era of advanced energy materials.
Introduction to Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) - A Marvelous Nanomaterial
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are an extraordinary class of nanomaterials composed of a single cylindrical layer of carbon atoms, resembling a seamless cylinder derived from a single sheet of graphene. As members of the carbon nanotube (CNT) family, SWCNTs stand out due to their exceptional combination of electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, all confined within a structure just 1-2 nanometers in diameter.
Electrically, SWCNTs exhibit an ultrahigh current-carrying capacity, with an ampacity reaching up to 1 billion A/cm2, 1,000 times greater than that of copper. Their electrical conductivity rivals copper, yet they are five times lighter. In terms of thermal performance, SWCNTs can achieve thermal conductivities up to 6600 W/(m·K), 10 times higher than copper. Mechanically, they demonstrate tensile strengths up to 100 GPa, making them 100 times stronger than steel, while still being six times lighter.
Another defining feature of SWCNTs is their ultrahigh aspect ratio (length to diameter), which can reach up to 100 million. This allows them to form continuous, open, and highly efficient three-dimensional networks, even at extremely low loadings. Combined with their exceptional conductivity, high mechanical strength, and excellent electrochemical stability, these networks are highly conductive, flexible, compact, and robust, making SWCNTs the best conductive additives for advanced batteries.
In the field of lithium-ion battery technology, SWCNTs are rapidly emerging as game-changing materials. While multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are currently the mainstream conductive additives for battery cathodes due to their lower cost, SWCNTs are regarded as the ultimate choice for next-generation conductive additives for both cathodes and anodes. Their finer diameter allows for significantly lower addition amounts, potentially as little as 1/10th that of MWCNTs, while simultaneously enhancing electrode capacity, reducing direct current resistance (DCR), improving electrode adhesion, increasing safety, boosting energy density, and enabling faster discharge rates.
Perhaps most critically, SWCNTs offer what may be the only effective solution for silicon-based anodes. These anodes promise much higher capacities (up to 4,200 mAh/g, compared to 372 mAh/g for graphite), but suffer from severe volume expansion and pulverization during charge/discharge cycles. The unique combination of flexibility, mechanical strength, and electrical conductivity in SWCNTs enables the construction of robust and resilient conductive networks that effectively alleviate cracking, significantly extend cycle life, and make the practical deployment of silicon-based anodes feasible.
Despite their high cost today, ongoing advancements in manufacturing and scale-up processes are expected to drive prices down, potentially accelerating their transition from a cutting-edge material to a mainstream component in energy storage and other high-performance applications.