STTR Phase I: Potassium Ion Battery with Intermediate Charge Rate Competes with Lithium Ferrophosphate (LFP)-based Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs)

通过开发钾离子电池（KIB）作为锂离子电池（lib）的可持续替代品，该小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响解决了对“超越锂（Li）离子”技术日益增长的需求。2022年，磷酸铁锂（LFP）电池的市场价值为125亿美元，预计到2030年将达到527亿美元，2023年至2030年的复合年增长率（CAGR）为19.7%。这种增长背后的主要推动力是电动汽车（ev）的日益普及。kib有潜力成为具有国内材料供应链的电动汽车和固定应用中具有成本效益的锂离子电池替代品。该项目的主要目标是提高KIB的性能，特别是为电动汽车应用实现快速充电循环。这一努力与追求可持续能源的未来、减少对关键材料的依赖和促进经济增长是一致的。这个项目的智力价值解决了“超越锂离子”储能系统的一个关键问题：为什么非锂离子架构，原则上应该和锂离子架构一样工作，在更快的充电速率下不足，以及如何解决这个问题？虽然单独的非锂组件（阴极、阳极和电解质）在电荷转移和存储行为方面非常有前途，但为什么整体系统存在不足？从更广泛的意义上说，解决这一困境可能会使地球上其他丰富的非锂建筑变得可行，从而使国内能源系统蓬勃发展。商业上的努力集中在非锂系统中结构-功能属性关系的核心，与现有的锂系统相比，对非锂系统的理解明显少得多。该项目将在名义上更基于反应的体系结构中揭示关键的结构-属性关系。这项合作将允许广泛的学习，从中观尺度的基本机制洞察开始，推进到商业相关的全KIB袋细胞测试。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses the growing demand for "beyond lithium (Li)-ion" technologies by developing Potassium (K) Ion Batteries (KIB) as sustainable alternatives for Lithium (Li)-Ion Batteries (LIBs). In 2022, the market for Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries was valued at $12.5 billion, and projections suggest it will reach $52.7 billion by 2030, with a notable 19.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2030. The main driver behind this growth is the increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). KIBs have the potential to become a cost-effective performance alternative to LIBs in EV and stationary applications with a domestic materials supply chain. The primary objective of this project is to enhance KIB performance, particularly focusing on enabling fast charge cycling for EVs applications. This endeavor aligns with the pursuit of a sustainable energy future, reduced dependence on critical materials, and the promotion of economic growth.The intellectual merit of this project addresses a key question in “beyond Li-ion” energy storage systems: Why do non-Li architectures, that should in principle function as well as Li architectures, fall short at faster charging rates and how can this be resolved? While individual non-Li components (cathode, anode, and electrolyte) are highly promising in terms of charge transfer and storage behavior, why does the holistic system fall short? In a broader sense, resolving this quandary could potentially enable other earth abundant non-Li architectures to become viable, enabling domestically sourced energy systems to flourish. The commercially focused effort operates at the core of structure-functional properties relations within non-Li systems, where there is markedly much less understanding versus existing LIBs. The project will unravel key structure-properties relations in the nominally more reactive K-based architectures. This collaborative effort will allow for a broad spectrum of learning, starting at basic mechanistic insight at meso scale and advancing to commercially relevant full KIB pouch cell testing.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.