CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI Dragonfly Energy & Dry Electrode Battery Manufacturing
Sep 30, 2025
Dr. Denis Phares, CEO of Dragonfly Energy and expert in aerospace engineering and nanotechnology, dives deep into the future of battery manufacturing. He discusses the innovative dry electrode process that could revolutionize the industry, comparing it to Tesla's methods. With insights on market strategies, like targeting underserved sectors such as RVs and heavy-duty trucking, Denis highlights how Dragonfly aims to compete innovatively. Plus, he explores the promising potential of solid-state batteries for safer and more efficient energy storage.
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From Professor To Battery Founder
- Denis left academia after 12 years because commercialization and university IP processes frustrated him.
- He founded Dragonfly Energy to apply aerosol processes to battery electrodes and launched Battleborn Batteries.
Powder Deposition Replaces Slurry Drying
- Dragonfly replaces wet slurries with aerosol powder deposition to coat both sides of foil simultaneously.
- The process avoids long solvent drying ovens by forming conductive powder films directly on the current collector.
Adapting Electrostatic Coating To Batteries
- Electrostatic powder coating uses charged powder grains that follow electric fields to uniformly coat grounded metal parts.
- Dragonfly adapted this idea to apply conductive battery particles onto foils reliably.