NAWA Technologies, a French pioneer of next-generation energy storage systems, was awarded the 2020 ‘Automobile Awards Technology of the Year’ prize at a ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris.

For the Technology of the Year award, the judges singled out NAWA Technologies’ ‘Ultra-Fast Carbon’ battery technology, which has “huge potential not only in improving the performance of electric vehicle batteries but also in playing a significant role in global e-mobility”.

The company says its Ultra-Fast Carbon electrode “combines the highest ionic conductivity — thanks to a 3-D fully accessible carbon nanostructure — with the highest electrical and thermal conductivity, provided by its arrangement of 100 billion functionalised nanotubes per square centimetre, all vertically aligned.

“This new 3-D electrode geometry can solve the vast majority of performance constraints in the global battery industry, extending energy by a factor of three, boosting power by a factor of 10 and thereby reducing charging time down to minutes instead of hours, increasing lifetime by up to a factor of three and drastically reducing safety issues and environmental impacts.”

Pascal Boulanger, the founder, chairman and CTO of NAWA Technologies, said: “On behalf of all of us at NAWA Technologies, I would like to say how proud I am to receive this prize from the judges of the Automobile Awards 2020.

“To stand next to so many global OEMs and suppliers at this prestigious event and win the Technology of the Year award is a huge honour.

“It is fantastic to be recognised for our many innovations and humbling to see that the judges understand the potential they have in automotive — from increasing the performance of an EV battery to improving the efficiency of automotive manufacturing, reducing environmental impacts and really opening up new mobility possibilities.”