SBIR Phase I: Ultra-thick lithium-ion electrodes for efficient and low-cost manufacturing

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目正在开发超厚锂离子电极，以降低生产成本并提高先进锂离子电池的可制造性。目前用于锂离子电池的制造方法使用昂贵的工艺来沉积精细的亚毫米电极膜，使得先进的化学方法在许多应用中成本高昂。 该提议是为了开发工程多孔电极，从而能够以更简单的沉积方法生产大容量锂离子电池。在电池材料成本和制造资本投资方面都可以实现主要的成本节约。 该项目将研究复合电极成分、孔隙结构、总孔隙率和电极厚度在构建坚固的商业规模电极中的作用。 了解这些工程变量的相互作用将导致实验室生产的大型锂离子电池满足近期商业部署的功率和寿命要求。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发低成本制造工艺，这将打破锂离子电池生产的成本曲线，使其在大型价格敏感市场中得到广泛采用。 此外，成功的努力将推动厚电极架构的科学发展，并促进锂离子电极的基于结构的工程方法，以补充当前先进材料的工作。降低锂离子电池的制造成本为市场开辟了新的机会，其中包括现有的深循环铅酸电池市场，总额为14亿美元，以及电网级分布式储能的新兴应用，仅在美国就有70亿美元的潜力。在铅酸替代应用中，这项技术将减少铅进入垃圾填埋场的机会。 在电网的新兴应用中，经济、长寿命的电池可以帮助建立更灵活的配电网络，并提高可再生能源的整合。由于这项技术是化学不可知的，它也将能够利用锂离子化学的未来改进。 这种灵活的能源、劳动力和资本高效生产平台将为美国先进的电池制造基地做出巨大贡献。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is developing ultra-thick lithium-ion electrodes to reduce the production cost and enhance the manufacturability of advanced lithium-ion batteries. The manufacturing approach in use today for lithium-ion batteries uses an expensive process for depositing delicate, sub-millimeter electrode films, making the advanced chemistry cost-prohibitive in many applications. This proposal is for the development of engineered-porosity electrodes that enable high volume lithium-ion battery production with simpler deposition methods. Major cost savings can be achieved in both cell material costs and manufacturing capital investment. This project will study the role of composite electrode composition, pore structure, total porosity, and electrode thickness, in building robust commercial-scale electrodes. Understanding the interplay of these engineering variables will result in the laboratory production of large-format lithium-ion battery cells meeting the power and lifetime requirements for near-term commercial deployment. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to develop low-cost manufacturing processes that will disrupt the cost curve of lithium-ion battery production, enabling widespread adoption in large, price-sensitive markets. Furthermore, successful efforts will advance the science of thick electrode architectures and promote structure-based engineering approaches to lithium-ion electrodes that complement current work on advanced materials. Lowering the manufactured cost of lithium-ion cells opens up new opportunities in markets, which include segments of existing deep-cycle lead-acid battery markets, totaling $1.4B, and emerging applications in grid-level distributed energy storage, with $7B of potential in the US alone. In lead-acid replacement applications, this technology will reduce opportunities for lead to reach landfills. In emerging applications on the grid, economical, long-life batteries can help build a more flexible electrical distribution network and enable increased renewable energy integration. As this technology is chemistry-agnostic, it will also be able to exploit future improvements in lithium-ion chemistry. This flexible platform of energy, labor, and capital efficient production will contribute greatly to the American advanced battery manufacturing base.