{"id":104871,"date":"2026-02-27T09:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T12:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ces.einnews.com\/article\/896114401"},"modified":"2026-02-27T09:53:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T12:53:32","slug":"this-singapore-deep-tech-startup-believes-its-paper-batteries-are-an-important-part-of-the-global-clean-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/this-singapore-deep-tech-startup-believes-its-paper-batteries-are-an-important-part-of-the-global-clean-energy-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"This Singapore deep-tech startup believes its paper batteries are an important part of the global clean energy transition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Flint wants to get its cellulose-based batteries into every device that requires them, says co-founder<\/p>\n

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[SINGAPORE] Sustainable alternatives are often more expensive or come with compromises in terms of functionality, but one Singapore company is trying to buck the trend with a unique product \u2013 paper batteries. <\/p>\n

Deep-tech startup Flint produces batteries made of cellulose \u2013 the key ingredient in paper production, hence their name \u2013 that are priced competitively with their lithium-based counterparts. Their performance is also comparable.  <\/p>\n

These paper batteries can be used in devices such as keyboards, computer mice and wearables. The carbon footprint for manufacturing each one is around 30 per cent smaller than that for a conventional battery.  <\/p>\n

Paper batteries are also safer as they are fire-resistant; conventional batteries are made from flammable and reactive materials. <\/p>\n

As Flint\u2019s batteries are composed of cellulose, manganese and zinc, their production does not depend on the supply chains for the scarce resources used to manufacture conventional batteries, such as lithium and cobalt. <\/p>\n

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\u201c<\/span>(The fact that) the batteries that we\u2019re using today are not green themselves is such an irony.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Carlo Charles, Flint co-founder<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This allows the process to be decentralised from places where batteries are typically produced \u2013 an especially critical feature when the global battery supply chain has turned into a flashpoint for trade tensions. <\/p>\n

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Therefore, even a small country lacking natural resources such as Singapore can manufacture paper batteries, said Flint co-founder Carlo Charles. <\/p>\n

With companies looking to move their supply chains out of China, he noted that geopolitical developments have boosted demand for Flint\u2019s products. A large proportion of its clients, from sectors such as tech and electronics, hail from Europe and North America.  <\/p>\n

Supporting the clean energy transition<\/h2>\n

In January, Flint was among more than 30 Singapore companies that showcased their products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas \u2013 a milestone for the startup. <\/p>\n

Flint began in 2019 as a passion project, driven by Charles\u2019 desire to create a more sustainable alternative to conventional batteries, which are key components in the world\u2019s transition to green energy. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important aspects for climate change is clean energy, and to\u2026 transition (the world) to green energy, you really need to use a lot of batteries,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201c(The fact that) the batteries that we\u2019re using today are not green themselves is such an irony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flint was incorporated in 2021 and today counts household names such as Amazon and Logitech among its clients. It is run by a 10-strong team and operates from an 8,000-square-foot space at 8 CleanTech Loop. <\/p>\n

The company takes on projects to build batteries for specific applications based on customers\u2019 requests, including energy storage systems, toys and consumer electronics such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops, Charles said. <\/p>\n

Within the next five years, Flint intends to scale its production and get its batteries into every device that requires them, the co-founder added, noting that it hopes to develop batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). <\/p>\n

\u201cEVs are like the holy grail that we want… but we are not focusing on that yet.\u201d He said that EV battery production requires gigafactories that need considerable amounts of money, resources and capital to be built. <\/p>\n

For now, manufacturing constraints present a barrier to scalability. \u201cThe harsh truth of building a hard-tech company (is that) it really boils down to production.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flint makes batteries at its office and lab in Singapore, where around five million units can be produced each year. <\/p>\n

Charles said that the startup is looking to build a facility in Europe that will expand its production to around 300 million batteries a year. <\/p>\n

Profitability on the horizon <\/h2>\n

With Flint expected to reach profitability this year, the goal is for the company to sustain its own growth, he said, although he is not closed off to funding. <\/p>\n

He noted that Flint has completed its seed and pre-Series A rounds of fundraising, and now has sufficient funds to scale. <\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the key reason is we don\u2019t want to dilute ourselves too much. As a founder, I want to focus on what matters, (which is) the products and the innovation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Going public is not off the table either, but the company has no plans for an initial public offering anytime soon, he added. <\/p>\n

Plans beyond batteries  <\/h2>\n

In the longer term, his vision is for Flint to venture beyond batteries and tackle other environmental issues. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the next 10 years, our goal is to really focus on other problems that the world has, and to try to solve those… The main reason I started (this) was to combat climate change with technology, and batteries are really just the first step.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said the areas the company could explore next are carbon capture and storage technology, or problems such as plastic pollution and ocean acidification. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that we can focus on, but I guess I\u2019m trying my best to not get diverted and lose focus. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of ideas that I\u2019m just keeping in my journal, but at the end of the day, I\u2019m 100 per cent focused on Flint\u2019s strategy for batteries today.\u201d <\/p>\n

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… showcased their products at the Consumer Electronics Show<\/span> in Las Vegas \u00e2\u0080\u0093 a milestone …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}