In an exclusive interview to L'Hebdo, Nick Hayek, CEO of Swatch Group and Mougahed Darwish, CEO of Belenos Clean Power, announce the production of batteries with unprecedented storage capacity.

In 2007, Nicolas G. Hayek founded Belenos Clean Power, naming his company after the shining, burning and resplendent Celtic god Belenos. This company, the majority of whose shares are controlled by the Swatch Group and Hayek Engineering, set out to manufacture components in the field of solar, hydrogen and oxygen power cells, technologies which can open the door to the production of renewable and decentralized energy. Following the Swatchmobile venture in the 1990s, Nicolas G. Hayek joined forces with the Fribourg-based electricity utility Groupe E, then headed by Philippe Virdis, to produce a domestic electrolyzer, and then with the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen (Aargau canton) to develop a fuel cell targeted primarily at the auto industry. The aim was also to develop more powerful, lighter and cheaper batteries.

Belenos Clean Power has remained silent for more than three years (see the L'Hebdo article in the 7 September 2011 issue). Has the Celtic god's flame extinguished? In an interview with L'Hebdo, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek and Mougahed Darwish, the delegate of the board of Belenos Clean Power, shed new light on this question. No, they say, the company is not sleeping. Quite the contrary. It has simply redefined its strategy. Moving on from its two initial primary objectives, it will now focus on next-generation batteries. But not just any batteries. We asked them to explain.

What can you tell us about the new battery developed by Belenos Clean Power?

Nick Hayek: Working with researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) in particular, Belenos Clean Power has developed a battery that can store 50-100% more electrical power than the batteries currently on the market around the globe. Because battery storage power is directly linked to autonomy, this means electrical vehicles which could previously run for 250 kilometers without recharging will soon be able to keep going for 500. But this is just one example because the storage of electrical power doesn't affect only the automobile industry. From watch-making, health care and telephony to many domestic activities, storage capacity remains one of the biggest problems to resolve in the 21st century. Increasing electrical storage capacity is the priority for all active stakeholders in renewable energy.

Does the Swatch Group have the means to realize its ambitions?

N.H.: Most certainly. The researchers and engineers at Belenos Clean Power are working together with those at Renata in Itingen near Basel. Renata, a member of the Swatch Group, makes more than a million batteries a day. This proximity to expertise ensures continuity from the research stage to serial production via the development of a prototype. This synergy effect enables us to gain precious time because we needn't woo laboratories or conduct endless negotiations with major battery producers. We're in our own facilities.

When do you foresee starting industrial production?

N.H.: We sincerely hope to be able to hit the market in three or four years at the latest. We are currently investing several million on a first production line within Renata itself.

What are the new technologies?

Mougahed Darwish:  The innovation is primarily in the cathode, which is made from a specific alloy of metals whose composition we cannot divulge. The entire manufacturing process was covered by about 15 patents. The 3-4-year time frame is very short. Remember, it was ten years between the development of the first prototype of the lithium-ion battery, invented around 1970, and the launch of a commercial product. And it was another ten years before Sony was able to capitalize on it on a large scale.

N.H.: One of the major strengths of the Swatch Group is its mastery of extremely small electronic parts, particularly by its subsidiaries EM Microelectronic and ETA. Once a miniature product can be made with a very high level of quality and safety and at a very good price, it's much easier to sell it in large volumes than to do the opposite. 

M.D.: Precisely. A battery is made up of a large number of small cells, the geometry of which we can vary almost infinitely.

Have you been contacted by any automobile manufacturers?

N.H.: Several manufacturers have come to us and proposed alliances and financing. The auto industry is searching for lighter, more powerful and less expensive batteries for its electric vehicles, which still don't arouse much enthusiasm among consumers. Car makers are therefore extremely interested in Belenos Clean Power's research and development, and they'd like to find out more about our activities! However, given my father's experience, we don't intend to ally ourselves to a major manufacturer, as was the case with the Swatchmobile. Nicolas G. Hayek understood all too well that the mission of the Swatch Group is not developing a new electric vehicle, but major elements like the batteries. But as I said before, these have far wider applications than that of the auto industry.

In focusing on batteries, has Benelos Clean Power given up on fuel cells?

N.H.: From the start, we pursued a twin-track policy, namely fuel cells and batteries, knowing that we would choose to develop the track with the biggest chance to progress technologically and commercially. We have therefore made the decision to concentrate fully on the battery project.

So several years of work for nothing?

N.H.: Not at all! The work undertaken with the Paul Scherrer Institute led to the filing of many patents and the opportunities for such single-use fuel cells, particularly for non-mobile products, are more interesting. But stationary products are not the priority for Belenos Clean Power, even though they are for many other companies.

M.D.: Using pure oxygen and hydrogen rather than hydrogen and air, as is generally the case, provides far greater fuel efficiency. But what applies to fixed installations doesn't apply in cars. It's not good enough to install two canisters of hydrogen and oxygen. That's too bulky, heavy and dangerous. After all, our main objective is to promote mobility!

What is the future of Belenos Clean Power?

N.H.: With a workforce of about 50, Belenos Clean Power now has a unique opportunity to become one of the first global producers of a completely new generation of batteries which will give a huge boost to clean propulsion and help spawn a multitude of new products.

Copyright L'Hebdo, translation by The Swatch Group Ltd.