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

该小型企业技术转让（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，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）电池市场价值为125亿美元，预测到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%。这一增长背后的主要驱动力是电动汽车（EV）的日益普及。KIB有可能成为电动汽车和固定应用中LIB的具有成本效益的性能替代品，具有国内材料供应链。该项目的主要目标是提高KIB的性能，特别是专注于为电动汽车应用实现快速充电循环。这一奋进符合对可持续能源未来的追求，减少对关键材料的依赖，促进经济增长。该项目的智力价值解决了“超越锂离子”储能系统中的一个关键问题：为什么原则上应该与锂架构一样发挥作用的非锂架构在更快的充电速率方面存在不足，如何解决这个问题？虽然单个非锂组分（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，但为什么整体系统却不尽如人意呢？从更广泛的意义上说，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，使国内能源系统蓬勃发展。商业上的重点工作是在非锂系统内的结构-功能性质关系的核心，与现有的LIB相比，对非锂系统的理解明显要少得多。该项目将揭示名义上更具反应性的K基架构中的关键结构-性能关系。这项合作努力将允许广泛的学习，从基本的机械洞察力在中型规模和推进到商业相关的完整KIB袋电池测试。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.