Newswise — During recent Congressional hearings concerning America's troubled automotive industry, much of the criticism lodged against Detroit centered around the Motor City's generations-long unwillingness to embrace fuel efficiency and environmentally sound practices. Attempting to redress that imbalance, President Obama's economic stimulus and recovery package yokes the nation's financial future to greener and more environmentally sound practices. Included in this landmark piece of $787 billion legislation is a $40 billion provision intended for energy efficient and renewable programs, including $2 billion earmarked for advanced battery systems.
"Lighter, more efficient batteries could hold the key to a more economically and environmentally sound future," says William Robinson, Chairman and CEO of Bellingham-based Integral Technologies, Inc., a development-stage company that may have created a new building block for a better Detroit. "While you can't change the basics of how a battery works, you can change the materials that are used to create it."
Integral has done just that, developing a moldable conductive plastic named ElectriPlastâ„¢, a polymer blend that can be used to conduct electricity. ElectriPlast consists of small single pellets design compounded with metal fibers that, when poured into a molding machine and shaped, may help streamline production of batteries and electronics.
With ElectriPlast replacing lead or stainless steel, batteries could be created that would be twenty-to-thirty pounds lighter than traditional batteries used today; on average most components would weigh 80% less than standard metal counterparts. Lighter doesn't only mean faster, it also means greener. Today, decreased vehicle weight translates into lower fuel consumption. Tomorrow, a better, more efficient battery likely holds the key to widespread popularity of hybrid and electric cars, and the nation curbing its dependence on fossil fuels.
After spending years perfecting hundreds of formulations and blends of the material, Integral is actively showcasing ElectriPlast to various industries. There are more than 118 patents filed around the product and its use. Along with their official manufacturing partner, Jasper Rubber Products, (www.jasperrubber.com), Integral is currently working to apply their innovations toward the creation of antennas, apparel, appliances, audio & visual devices, automotive products, batteries, cables, computers, electrical and heating systems, and more.
"Given some of the surreal figures being tossed around as part of the stimulus, it is important to note that ElectriPlast is not just a theory but proven technology," says Mr. Robinson, "we know we're onto something special."
For those covering green/environment/alternative energy issues, Integral Technologies Inc. makes available Chairman and CEO William Robinson to discuss a variety of topics including:
"¢ How much money in the economic stimulus and recovery package is earmarked for battery research?"¢ How will economic stimulus funds for advance battery support be allocated?"¢ Where does America currently stand in relation to the rest of the world in terms of battery design for electric cars of the future?"¢ What is ElectriPlast and how might it prove to be an environmentally sound solution for advanced battery development?"¢ How do lighter batteries translate into greener and more environmentally sustainable transportation models?
Expert Biography " William Robinson, Chairman and CEOWilliam Robinson, Chairman & CEO, is the co-founder of Integral and is responsible for putting the team together, along with the development and implementation of strategies. Mr. Robinson brings many years of management experience in finance and corporate development. This experience includes twenty years as President of several publicly-traded companies.
About Integral Technologies, Inc.Integral Technologies, Inc., founded in 1996, is a development-stage company focusing on the research and development of the Company's proprietary innovative electrically conductive resin-based material called "ElectriPlast." The ElectriPlast™ Polymer is a patent-pending, compounded formulation of resin-based materials, which are conductively load¬ed, or doped, with a proprietary controlled, balanced concentration of micron-conductive materials and then pelletized. The conductive doping within this pellet is then homogenized using conventional molding techniques and equipment. The end result is a molded part in any of the infinite shapes and sizes associated with plastics and rubbers, but which is as electrically conductive as if it were metal. Integral has completed patent filings of its ElectriPlast technologies and has 115 patents filed, forty-five issued, and seventy patents pending.
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