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

这个小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响通过开发钾(K)离子电池(KIB)作为锂(Li)-离子电池(LIB)的可持续替代品来满足对“超越锂(Li)离子”技术日益增长的需求。2022年，磷酸锂铁(LFP)电池的市场价值为125亿美元，预测显示，到2030年，该市场将达到527亿美元，2023年至2030年的复合年增长率(CAGR)为19.7%。这一增长背后的主要驱动力是电动汽车(EVS)的日益采用。在电动汽车和具有国内材料供应链的静止应用中，KIB具有成为LIB的高性价比替代品的潜力。该项目的主要目标是提高KiB的性能，特别是关注于实现电动汽车应用的快速充电循环。这一努力与追求可持续的能源未来，减少对关键材料的依赖，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：为什么原则上应该像锂结构一样发挥作用的非锂结构在更快的充电速度上做不到，这个问题如何解决？虽然单独的非锂组件(阴极、阳极和电解液)在电荷转移和存储行为方面非常有希望，但为什么整个系统不够好？在更广泛的意义上，解决这一困境可能会使其他地球丰富的非锂建筑变得可行，使国内来源的能源系统蓬勃发展。这项专注于商业的努力处于非锂体系结构-功能性质关系的核心，与现有的锂体系相比，人们对非锂体系的理解明显要少得多。该项目将揭示名义上更具反应性的基于K的体系结构中的关键结构-属性关系。这一合作努力将允许广泛的学习，从中观尺度的基本机械洞察开始，发展到商业上相关的全KiB储袋单元测试。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/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.