mPhase Technologies, Inc., is an innovative development company specializing in the fabrication of Smart Surfaces and devices enabled by recent breakthroughs in microfluidics, micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology. The Company has offices in Little Falls, New Jersey and Norwalk, Connecticut.

mPhase has a patent portfolio consisting of 11 patents (solely and jointly owned) and patent applications in the United States, covering Smart Surfaces, an innovative platform technology to control the flow of fluids by electronically (and other means) manipulating the way liquids behave when in contact with a solid or porous surface.

To date, mPhase has concentrated its Smart Surface platform technology on developing a Smart NanoBattery (first battery on a chip), which has a unique architecture that enables:

• a shelf life of decades
• remote activation
• programmable control
• scalable manufacturing
• adaptability to multiple configurations:

- lithium and other chemistries
– primary, secondary (rechargeable), or reserve

• environmentally friendly “green”

The mPhase platform technology provides huge upside potential for extended life alternatives to many systems including back-up batteries, oxygen generators and hot/cold packs for use in emergency or survival applications.

In the ever progressing electronics market, advanced devices are in need of new, high performance, longer lasting, and environmentally friendly batteries. The Smart Battery can accommodate a wide range of next generation handheld gaming devices or high tech PDA/cell phones to an array of sophisticated military, medical, industrial, and consumer technologies.

Technology Overview

mPhase technology exploits the phenomenon of electrowetting – the ability to electronically manipulate the way liquids behave when in contact with a solid or porous surface. Water will bead up on a surface that is superhydrophobic*, but can be made to move or spread out by electrowetting. The same is true for an organic liquid if the surface is superlyophobic.

It is noteworthy that research groups across the country through out several esteemed universities including MIT, Rutgers and the University of Wisconsin are now publicizing their work on electrowetting and superhydrophobicity and superlyophobicity to create so-called “smart” structures on metal, ceramic or polymer surfaces that resist getting dirty, fogging up, or forming ice. They also can be used for displays, lenses and other applications.

By exploiting the same phenomena in their Smart NanoBattery by manipulating the liquid electrolyte via a proprietary silicon structure – a porous membrane – and coupled with unique battery architecture.

Competitive Advantages of the Smart NanoBattery:

The mPhase reserve-style battery has proven adaptable to a wide range of chemistries, with the initial development based on zinc manganese dioxide (Zn/MnO2), similar to the typical alkaline battery used in a flashlight or TV remote control, and the current development focused on the higher-energy density, more costly lithium manganese dioxide (Li/MnO2), as found in laptops, cell phones and digital cameras. The future rechargeable battery is a lithium-based chemistry that can be implemented with the same proven architecture.

These correlate to first launch of a reserve battery, then a primary cell with the Zn/MnO2 or Li/MnO2 chemistries, and later a secondary (rechargeable) battery. At that point, the family of Smart NanoBatteries will be complete (reserve, primary and secondary) serving a wide range of applications.

As new and existing portable electronic applications continue to proliferate, the potential for similar performance advantages enabled by their technology is evident. The military continues down the path of increased usage of high tech portable equipment as laser designators extend their range, drones are used more often, special operations soldiers increase mission time and chemical and biological sensors become more sophisticated and power hungry. In the consumer market, advanced 3G cell phones, next generation handheld gaming devices, digital cameras, MP3 players, converged cameras/cell phones/PDAs or other new devices yet to be developed, all will continue to tax power budgets and further intensify the need for new, high performance, longer lasting batteries. mPhase Technologies is proud about the potential its leading position has in battery technology and is excited for the future of this exciting industry.

Basic operating principle of Smart NanoBattery:

Smart NanoBattery Power Management:

A key differentiating feature of the Smart NanoBattery is Power On Command™. This feature is the ability of the user to locally or remotely activate the battery, in effect turning it on from an inactive or reserve state. Prior to activation, the battery’s chemicals remain separate, therefore supplying no power. Activation is initiated on the user’s command causing the chemicals to mix, electrochemical reactions to occur, and power to be supplied to an electronic device.

mPhase battery’s arrayed cell configuration extends control via Power on Command from a single cell to multiple cells. The array concept is a method of segmenting the battery into groups of individual cells that can be independently addressed and activated at different times, as needed. Because they are independent in form and function, each cell in the array can be of a different energy density or even a different chemistry (electrodes and electrolytes). This potentially allows for a battery array to be built in which individual cells address the unique power requirements of different subsystems, or can adapt to deliver power continuously under varying temperature extremes from very hot to very cold. In these cases, portions of the battery array are addressed and consumed sequentially as needed, thus preserving remaining power for later use and extending the useful life of the electronic device it is powering.

As an example to demonstrate extremely long active life, a Smart NanoBattery that is designed to provide power continuously for ten years can be clustered into an array of identical cells that are designed to turn-on sequentially as one group dissipates and eventually dies. Just before one group of cells dies it triggers on a neighboring group. Therefore, three cells will provide up to 30 years (3 x 10 years each) of uninterrupted service. Six cells will provide up to 60 years. The effect is shown below for a three-cell array.

In an mPhase Smart NanoBattery consisting of a three-cell array, when the first cell in the battery is activated, it begins producing power. When it dies, the second cell is triggered. When it dies, the third cell is turned on. The battery is fully discharged when all three cells are depleted.

The selective activation of cells can be programmed electronically. For continuous operation in a changing environment from very hot to very cold, different electrode and electrolyte chemistries can be employed that can be triggered on as needed to match environmental conditions. This programmable feature can be used effectively to power remotely deployed sensors for military and other specialty applications, as well as implantable medical devices.

Time Line to Success:

2004

mPhase entered into a joint development agreement with Lucent Technologies (formerly Bell Labs and now Alcatel-Lucent) for exploratory research of control and manipulation of fluids on superhydrophobic surfaces. Following an investment by mPhase of over $4 million, the outcome of the work with Lucent is a proprietary battery architecture based on a porous silicon membra

2005 and 2006

mPhase moved from basic research to design and development of the Smart NanoBattery by developing a first generation battery on a chip using a nano structured surface and successfully lighting an LED.

2007

mPhase entered into a 3 year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The object of this Agreement was to demonstrate the applications of the Novel Reserve Cell Technologies (Smart NanoBattery) and study how such technologies would perform in high “G” environments.

U.S. Army awarded mPhase Technologies a $100,000 six-month Phase I contract under its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program for research on a long-life battery that provides continuous power to computer memory circuits for 30 years or more.

2008

Based on their progress, mPhase was awarded a follow-up $750,000 Phase II award. The STTR Phase II award was successfully completed in October 2010 with working prototypes of a Smart 12 cell, lithium based, programmable, reserve battery and detailed technical reports that characterized the battery development. The Smart NanoBattery reached a Technical Readiness Level of approximately 5 (TRL 5) which fulfilled the army requirements for demonstrating an advanced prototype.

2009

mPhase begins collaboration agreement with Porsche Group which includes various agreements with Porsche Design Studio (PDS), Porsche Design (PD) and Porsche Engineering Group (PEG).

Through its efforts with Porsche, mPhase establishes mPower Technologies, Inc., a 100% wholly owned corporation focused on developing consumer products featuring advanced battery technology.

2010

mPhase was notified by the House of Representatives, that as part of the Fiscal Year 2011 first round of Appropriations, mPhase was listed to receive funding for Smart NanoBattery in the amount of $2,500,000.

2011

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, (D-HI) announced that the Committee will implement a moratorium on earmarks for the then current session of Congress. This amounts to a 2 year moratorium, as it will apply to both the FY 2011 and FY 2012 bills.

A 5 year, Non-Proprietary User Agreement between mPhase Technologies and UChicago Argonne, LLC, Operator of Argonne National Laboratory, was executed. This Non-Proprietary User Agreement, which was granted based on the acceptance of a technical proposal submitted for user-initiated nanoscience & nanotechnology research, grants mPhase access to use the technical facilities at the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), Argonne National Labs, Illinois.

2012

In June 2012 the company reached an agreement to restructure approximately $1.15 M (USD) of toxic Convertible Securities. This restructuring will give the Company the control it needs to cease the automatic dilution of the issued and outstanding common stock. The debt restructuring should allow the company the flexibility it needs to obtain funding for mPhase’s revolutionary Smart Nano Battery Technology including the launch of its new product featuring advanced battery technology targeted for the automotive and marine industries. The company stated: “The significant restructuring of this debt, especially the Toxic Convertible Notes, is the result of an aggressive effort on the part of management and the Board of Directors to improve mPhase’s ability to meet its strategic goals of completing the commercialization of its technology and obtain funding on a more favorable basis.”

mPhase Technologies, Inc.