SBIR Phase I: A Drop-in Sustainable Cathode Replacement that can Allow Sub-$100/kWh Li-ion Battery Packs with Improved Safety and Performance

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力解决了锂离子电池在新能源应用中的高成本和较差的安全性。低成本和安全的电池将提高太阳能储存的经济可行性，这对于将可再生能源普及率提高到总发电量的30%以上至关重要。该项目提出了一种电池材料，与目前使用的材料相比，它提供了更低的成本、更高的安全性和更好的循环性能。该项目提出了一种新颖的纳米结构LiMn2O4正极化学材料(ND-LMO)，与现有的镍锰钴氧化物(NMC)材料相比，成本降低了约30%。此外，它将具有更好的性能参数，如循环寿命、更安全的产热曲线，以及在充满状态和最大放电深度之间的安培小时容量增加10%。这些改进中的许多都源于精细纳米结构电极材料的“嵌入-伪电容”特性。为了使这些系统在商业上可行，必须解决技术挑战，如不活跃和失活的表面、合成成本等。该项目的拟议组成和使用的方法可以应用于其他材料系统。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project addresses the high cost and poor safety of Lithium-ion batteries in new energy applications. Low-cost and safe batteries will improve economic viability for solar energy storage, which is critical to increasing renewables penetration to above 30% of total power generation. This project advances a battery material to provide lower cost, higher safety and improved cyclability compared to currently used materials. This can support new batteries in applications including electric vehicles, grid-tied and solar storage, and consumer power tools, among others.This SBIR project proposes a novel nanostructured LiMn2O4 cathode chemistry (ND-LMO) that offers ~30% lower $/kWh cost compared to incumbent nickel managanese cobalt oxides (NMC) materials. Furthermore, it will have iimproved performance parameters, such as cycle life, a safer heat generation profile, and a 10% greater amp-hour capacity between full state of charge and maximum depth of discharge. Many of these improvements stem from the “intercalation-pseudocapacitive” properties of finely nanostructured electrode materials. Technical challenges, such as inactive and deactivating surfaces, synthetic costs, and others, must be addressed for these systems to be commercially viable. The project’s proposed composition and methods used can be applied to other material systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.