SBIR Phase I: Ultra-thick lithium-ion electrodes for efficient and low-cost manufacturing

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目正在开发超厚锂离子电极，以降低生产成本并增强先进锂离子电池的可制造性。今天锂离子电池的制造方法使用昂贵的工艺来沉积精细的亚毫米电极薄膜，使得先进的化学在许多应用中成本过高。这项提议是为了开发工程多孔性电极，使其能够用更简单的沉积方法生产大容量锂离子电池。电池材料成本和制造资本投资都可以实现重大成本节约。该项目将研究复合电极的组成、孔结构、总孔隙率和电极厚度在制造坚固的商业规模电极中的作用。了解这些工程变量的相互作用将导致实验室生产满足近期商业部署所需的功率和寿命要求的大型锂离子电池。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发低成本的制造工艺，这些工艺将扰乱锂离子电池生产的成本曲线，使其能够在对价格敏感的大型市场广泛采用。此外，成功的努力将推进厚电极结构的科学，并促进基于结构的锂离子电极工程方法，以补充目前在先进材料方面的工作。降低锂离子电池的制造成本为市场带来了新的机遇，其中包括总价值14亿美元的现有深循环铅酸电池市场的细分市场，以及网格级分布式能源存储的新兴应用，仅在美国就有70亿美元的潜力。在铅酸替代应用中，这项技术将减少铅进入垃圾填埋场的机会。在电网的新兴应用中，经济、长寿命的电池可以帮助建立更灵活的配电网络，并实现更多的可再生能源集成。由于这项技术与化学无关，它也将能够利用锂离子化学的未来改进。这个能源、劳动力和资本高效生产的灵活平台将为美国先进的电池制造基地做出巨大贡献。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is developing ultra-thick lithium-ion electrodes to reduce the production cost and enhance the manufacturability of advanced lithium-ion batteries. The manufacturing approach in use today for lithium-ion batteries uses an expensive process for depositing delicate, sub-millimeter electrode films, making the advanced chemistry cost-prohibitive in many applications. This proposal is for the development of engineered-porosity electrodes that enable high volume lithium-ion battery production with simpler deposition methods. Major cost savings can be achieved in both cell material costs and manufacturing capital investment. This project will study the role of composite electrode composition, pore structure, total porosity, and electrode thickness, in building robust commercial-scale electrodes. Understanding the interplay of these engineering variables will result in the laboratory production of large-format lithium-ion battery cells meeting the power and lifetime requirements for near-term commercial deployment. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to develop low-cost manufacturing processes that will disrupt the cost curve of lithium-ion battery production, enabling widespread adoption in large, price-sensitive markets. Furthermore, successful efforts will advance the science of thick electrode architectures and promote structure-based engineering approaches to lithium-ion electrodes that complement current work on advanced materials. Lowering the manufactured cost of lithium-ion cells opens up new opportunities in markets, which include segments of existing deep-cycle lead-acid battery markets, totaling $1.4B, and emerging applications in grid-level distributed energy storage, with $7B of potential in the US alone. In lead-acid replacement applications, this technology will reduce opportunities for lead to reach landfills. In emerging applications on the grid, economical, long-life batteries can help build a more flexible electrical distribution network and enable increased renewable energy integration. As this technology is chemistry-agnostic, it will also be able to exploit future improvements in lithium-ion chemistry. This flexible platform of energy, labor, and capital efficient production will contribute greatly to the American advanced battery manufacturing base.