European project takes lithium metal solid state battery to 1070Wh/l
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Researchers across Europe have developed a new manufacturing process for lithium metal solid state battery production.
The solid state battery uses a “liquid-to-solid” processed electrolyte, jointly developed by imec, Empa and Solvionic. This gives an energy density of 1070 Wh/L, well above the 800 Wh/L for current lithium-ion batteries.
This manufacturing process is both cost-effective and adaptable to existing lithium-ion battery production lines and paves the way for commercially viable solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles.
The Horizon 2020 SOLiDIFY consortium has 14 European partners and developed the prototype solid state pouch cell in a battery lab at EnergyVille, Belgium.
The higher energy density of the cell comes from a thin lithium-metal anode together with a sufficiently thin solid electrolyte separator with a thick traditional NMC nickel, manganese, and cobalt cathode and thin lithium-metal anode. Unlike other processes, it happens at room temperature and pressure and can be used in current lithium-ion battery production lines with a projected cost of less than €150 per kWh.
The team evaluated and optimised a range of materials and coatings from the project partners. For the prototype’s electrolyte, a polymerized ionic liquid-based solid nanocomposite material was used, enabling a “liquid-to-solid” solidification approach for which Empa in Switzerland has filed a patent application.
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This approach successfully created a thin separator of 20 μm, allowed for the use of a thick cathode of 100 μm, and resulted in a compact battery cell stack. In addition, the consortium overcame mechanical strength and cathode impregnation challenges to increase the cell’s charge rate to 3 hours and lifetime to 100 cycles.
Compared to other solid-state electrolytes, the thermally stable cell had a reduced flammability, improving safety. The application of nanometer-thin protective coatings enabled the use of cobalt-lean NMC cathodes, reducing environmental impact while providing higher capacity.
The next steps include the further upscaling of the cell technology.
www.solidify-h2020.eu; www.imec-int.com; www.empa.ch; www.solvionics.com
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