SBIR Phase II: Sulfur-infused carbon nanostructures for High Energy Density Secondary Batteries

这项拟议的小企业创新研究第二阶段项目将开发一种新型纳米级工艺，用于合成硫注入碳复合阴极材料，以生产具有高充电/放电速率和超长循环寿命的高能量密度锂硫（Li-S）二次电池。循环寿命长的锂硫电池在110亿至130亿美元的锂离子电池市场中是一项潜在的颠覆性技术，因为它们的能量密度比现有的化学平台高出三到四倍。该第二阶段提案的技术目标包括优化硫-碳复合材料的电化学性能，以及开发和实施用于材料和电池制造的可扩展单元工艺。该项目将组装和测试足够数量的软包电池，以证明600 Wh/kg运行700次循环，产品间差异最小，性能可靠。第二阶段的成功将为获得机构风险投资和建立联合开发伙伴关系提供重要途径，以成功将NOHM独特的锂硫电池技术转移到商业市场。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是显著的。采用硫作为阴极和金属锂作为阳极的二次锂硫电池提供了任何两种固体元素中最高的能量存储潜力。它们提供的比能量是目前部署的锂离子电池技术的两倍多，重量只有一半。锂离子电池目前拥有140亿美元的市场，预计到2020年将达到440亿美元。它们占便携式电子产品中使用的所有二次（可充电）电池的近75%。如果这些电池的潜力可以被经济地利用和扩展，它们预计将破坏目前的锂离子电池技术，因为它们具有更高的能量密度和低成本以及硫的广泛可用性。锂硫电池可以改变移动终端市场、电动汽车市场和储能市场，使所有这些领域的效率和功率都得到提高。

This proposed Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a novel nano- scale process for synthesizing sulfur-infused carbon composite cathode materials to produce high- energy density lithium-sulfur (Li-S) secondary batteries with a high rate of charge/discharge and extraordinarily long cycle life. Lithium-sulfur batteries with a long cycle-life are a potentially disruptive technology in the $11-$13 billion lithium-ion battery market because of their three to fourfold energy density advantage over existing chemistry platforms. The technical objectives of this Phase II proposal include the optimization of the electrochemical performance of Sulfur-Carbon composite materials as well developing and implementing scalable unit processes for materials and cell manufacturing. This project will assemble and test pouch cells in sufficient quantities to demonstrate 600Wh/kg operation for 700 cycles with minimal product-to-product variability and reliable performance. Success in Phase II will provide an important pathway to receiving institutional venture funding and building joint-development partnerships to successfully transition NOHMs unique Li-S battery technology to commercial markets. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is significant. Secondary lithium-sulfur batteries employing sulfur as the cathode and metallic lithium as the anode offers the highest energy storage potential of any two solid elements. They offer more than twice the specific energy of currently deployed lithium ion battery technology with half the weight. Li-ion batteries currently have a $14 billion market and are expected to reach $44 billion by 2020. They account for close to 75% of all secondary (rechargeable) batteries used in portable electronics. If the potential of these batteries can be harnessed and scaled economically, they are expected to disrupt current lithium ion cell technology because of their higher energy density and the low cost and wide-spread availability of sulfur. Li-S batteries could transform the mobile device market, the electric vehicle market, and energy storage market, enabling greater efficiency and power in all those sectors.