Initial validation testing has been completed on a novel cathode material that could lower the manufacturing costs and lengthen the lifetimes of lithium-ion batteries. The new cathode material represents a departure from the traditional Li-ion intercalation chemistry used in current batteries, in favor of a reduction-oxidation (redox) chemistry that offers several advantages.
“With intercalation, the lithium ions move into and out of the electrode lattice structure, and in doing so, degradation in the lattice structure over time reduces charge capacity,” explains David Lee, CEO of BioSolar Inc. (Santa Clarita, Calif.; www.biosolar.com), the company that is commercializing the cathode material based on research at the University of California-Santa Barbara (www.ucsb.edu). The damage typically results in losses in energy storage capacity of 20% per 1,000 charge-discharge cycles, Lee says, adding, “Our approach was to use a redox chemistry that is fundamentally different from intercalation chemistry to avoid this type of storage capacity loss, and so extend battery life.”
BioSolar’s cathode uses a proprietary combination of commercially available polymers and other raw materials to make up the redox-supporting cathode structure. The polymer blend is then coated onto an aluminum substrate using a simple proprietary process. This method allows the cathode material to realize another key advantage: “It avoids the need for the relatively expensive and energy-intensive slurrying and calendaring processes required for the manufacture of current cathodes for Li-ion batteries,” Lee remarks.
Lee says the new cathode material has the potential to lower the energy storage costs for Li-ion batteries to below $100/kWh — less than half of the current cost. And the material can be made using existing battery-manufacturing infrastructure, Lee stresses.
Following demonstration and validation of the new material, BioSolar is now working on optimizing the cathode, and then plans to test it inside a real Li-ion battery. Eventually, the company seeks to license the technology to battery manufacturers or start a joint venture to produce the battery, Lee says.