WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ:KOPN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. to produce and market new high-capacity lithium-ion batteries for use in head-worn wearable products based on silicon oxide with carbon (SiO-C) in the anode. The new technology doubles the capacity for a given battery volume compared to today’s conventional lithium-ion batteries.*
Under the terms of the agreement, Kopin will exclusively market the batteries to OEM customers under the brand name SiMax™ for use in head-worn wearable products. The first SiMax battery measures just 46x10.5x5.5mm with 400 mAh capacity and will be shown at CES®2016. Initial production will begin in the second quarter of 2016 and the batteries will be used in Kopin’s Solos™ cycling eyewear product.
Conventional Li-ion battery capacity has been increasing only gradually in recent years. The result has been a widening mismatch between what we’d like to do with mobile and wearable devices and what we can do. Now, the higher capacity, smaller and lighter SiMax batteries will close this gap and enable the performance and product designs that consumers require for wearable products and head-worn systems.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Kopin to commercialize the high-SiO-C-content battery technology, which provides unprecedented capacity in small form factors,” said Masao Okafuji, chief technology officer of Hitachi Maxell. “While it has been well known that the use of high-SiO-C-content anode can provide several times the energy density than the graphite anode used in today’s Li-ion cells, until now serious technical challenges prevented its use. We have now overcome these technical challenges and are ready to commercialize the first batteries using this new technology.”
“Our collaboration with Hitachi Maxell represents a leap forward in battery technology and the wearables market,” said Dr. John C.C. Fan, president and CEO of Kopin. “Wearables will only reach their potential if the technologies inside them can support the best possible user experience. Smaller, longer-lasting, lighter batteries are a critical building block for the success of wearables, in addition to compact displays that provide large, high-resolution images and speech enhancement technology that provides reliable communication in all noise environments. Kopin, along with its partners, is leading the industry to develop and deliver these technologies that will propel the wearables market forward.”
The markets and applications for wearable computing devices are growing rapidly in areas such as sports, healthcare, manufacturing, warehousing, gaming, drone racing and others. In all of these applications, small battery size and weight, and long run-time are critical factors for user satisfaction. The SiMax technology will enable significant improvements in product design and performance for all of these applications.
The first SiMax battery will be debuted at Kopin’s exclusive VIP reception – Wearables: The Missing Pieces – at Kopin’s suite at the Venetian during CES. Additional information is available at events@kopin.com
*Twice the energy density compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries: Research by Hitachi Maxell (November 2015). Compared with lithium-ion batteries with width under 13mm presented on websites of each company.
Editors' Note: Photos are available via the Associated Press Photo Network and on the Internet at Feature Photo Service’s link through http://www.newscom.com
About Kopin
Kopin Corporation is a leading developer of innovative wearable computing technologies and solutions. Kopin’s technology portfolio includes ultra-small displays, optics, speech enhancement technology, software, low-power ASICs, and ergonomically designed smart headset concept systems. Kopin’s proprietary components and technology are protected by more than 300 global patents and patents pending, with more than 95% related to wearable technologies. For more information, please visit Kopin’s website at www.kopin.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking” statements under the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, without limitation, statements relating to our expectation that Kopin and Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. will produce and market new high-capacity lithium-ion batteries for use in head-worn wearable products based on silicon oxide with carbon (SiO-C) in the anode; Kopin will exclusively market the batteries to OEM customers under the brand name SiMax™ for use in head-worn wearable products; the first SiMax batteries will be shown at CES®2016; Initial production will begin in the second quarter of 2016; the batteries will be used in Kopin’s Solos™ cycling eyewear product; the higher capacity, smaller and lighter SiMax batteries will close this gap and enable the performance and product designs that consumers require for wearable products and head-worn systems; our belief Kopin, along with its partners, is leading the industry to develop and deliver these technologies and will propel the wearables market forward; our belief that the markets and applications for wearable computing devices are growing rapidly in areas such as sports, healthcare, manufacturing, warehousing, gaming, drone racing and others; our belief that the SiMax technology will enable significant improvements in product design and performance for all of these applications; and the first SiMax battery will be debuted at Kopin’s exclusive VIP reception – Wearables: The Missing Pieces – at Kopin’s suite at the Venetian during CES. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: Kopin and Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. may decide not to produce and market new high-capacity lithium-ion batteries for use in head-worn wearable products based on silicon oxide with carbon (SiO-C) in the anode; Kopin may decide not to market the batteries to OEM customers; the first SiMax batteries will not be ready to be shown at CES®2016; initial production will not begin in the second quarter of 2016; the batteries are not used in Kopin’s Solos™ cycling eyewear product; and Kopin, along with its partners, may be unable to develop and deliver the technologies and needed to propel the wearables market forward; the markets and applications for wearable computing devices may not grow; the SiMax technology may not enable significant improvements in product design and performance; it may take longer than the Company estimates to develop products; the batteries and the Company’s other products may not be accepted by the market place; there may be issues that prevent the adoption or further development of the batteries and the Company’s other wearable computing technologies; manufacturing, marketing or other issues may prevent either the adoption or acceptance of products; and other risk factors and cautionary statements listed in the Company’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 12 months ended December 27, 2014, and the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based only on information currently available to the Company and only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this report.
