Hybrid electrolyte membranes for the next-generation printable all-solid lithium batteries

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Electric Vehicles (EVs) play a critical role in our formidable task of transitioning towards a low-carbon economy. The global EV market continues to grow at a rate that is faster than ever before. (now ~$250 billion and projected a four-fold expansion by 2027) This rapid growth drives rising demand for safe and robust batteries that can deliver more energy in a limited physical size. Conventional lithium-ion batteries that dominate the EV market use carbonate-based liquid electrolytes that are flammable and prone to volume expansion, posing severe safety hazards. Equally importantly, additional packing accessories are required to prevent electrolyte leakage, limiting the maximum energy and power a battery can ultimately deliver per unit volume. Replacing liquid-electrolyte with solid will enable smaller batteries with higher energy density and improved safety, key features to support long-distance driving and heavy-duty vehicles. (e.g., e-trucks and e-buses) Driven by the EV market growth, the solid-state battery market also expects an approximately four-fold expansion by 2027, projecting tremendous opportunities. This program will develop a printable, mechanically enhanced hybrid electrolyte membrane (HEM) that enables the cost-effective manufacturing of safe, high-energy solid-state lithium batteries. HEM exhibiting the same performance does not yet exist in the current market. In this 2-year AI-supported program, our team will synthesize the HEM by integrating our recently discovered air-stable ceramic conductor with a "mechanical strengthen agent" - a polymeric additive derived from local industrial byproducts. These activities will prepare our initial group of products for commercialization at TRL 4 (expected in 24 months). Beyond, we aim to develop a market-orientated business expansion plan towards solid-state battery prototypes with our existing and new partners - the end-users. (i.e., Toyota, GM, Tesla, etc.) This program will also serve as a training platform for the next-generation R&D experts leading the local solid-state battery industrial sector grown from this initiative.