Tacoma, Washington-based climate technology firm Homeostasis Systems Corp has been awarded a $303,518 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Administered through the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, the award supports research into purifying electrochemically synthesized graphite derived from industrial carbon emissions for use as critical anode material in domestic lithium-ion batteries.
Led by Principal Investigator Julien Lombardi, the project runs from August 2026 through July 2027 and focuses on scaling a low-carbon, domestic alternative to traditional mined or synthetic fossil-derived graphite feedstocks.
By utilizing industrial emissions as an input, Homeostasis aims to shorten graphite anode production timelines from months to weeks using a modular, repeatable reactor design that lowers capital requirements and deployment risks.
The project addresses critical supply chain vulnerabilities for key US power and energy infrastructure, including grid-scale energy storage systems, electric vehicles, defense power platforms, and data center energy storage for artificial intelligence development.
SBIR Phase I Technical Focus: Optimizing Electrochemical Surface Area Metrics
The primary objective of the Phase I technical scope is to refine the electrochemical synthesis process so the resulting carbon material serves as a seamless, drop-in replacement for incumbent commercial-grade battery anodes.
Research will evaluate whether modifying specific electrochemical parameters, such as current density control, electrolyte composition, and cathode surface chemistry, can yield a specific surface area of less than 3 square meters per gram.
A successful demonstration in Phase I will validate the technical feasibility of transforming captured carbon emissions into high-purity battery anodes, providing a blueprint for commercial-scale manufacturing in the United States.
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