SBIR Phase I: Improved Lithium-Ion Batteries via Solution-Deposited Nanolayers on the Surface of Formed Electrodes

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显着改进锂离子电池（LIB）技术，以推进可再生能源的渗透和减少温室气体排放。锂离子电池不仅是当前消费电子行业的主要组成部分，而且正在成为电动汽车和电网存储等清洁能源应用开发的关键。与化石燃料相比，它们有限的成本竞争力、有限的能量密度和有限的使用寿命仍然是阻碍这些新兴应用被主流采用的障碍。这些问题都表明了对重大技术进步的需求，单靠简单的规模经济是无法满足的。Coreshell吗?S的创新之处在于引入了一种廉价且可扩展的电极涂层技术，以保护电池免受循环退化。该技术有可能显著提高电池的成本和性能，并通过将耗时数天的缓慢电化学步骤替换为几分钟内即可完成的快速涂层步骤，从而降低制造速度。如果完全实现，Coreshell？s涂层有可能彻底改变LIB行业，并使清洁能源技术广泛商业化。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目是为了证明Coreshell？美国独有的电极涂层技术。lib中最先进的电极表面保护是电化学形成的，称为？SEI吗?(Solid-Electrolyte-Interphase)。SEI的制造速度慢，成本高，本身就不稳定，并且会消耗锂，从而降低容量。该提案基于一种新的专有涂层来代替SEI，采用卷对卷工艺，可以无缝集成到现有的LIB生产线中。通过在电池电极表面沉积成形良好的涂层，Coreshell？s的技术可以防止在LIB循环过程中发生的许多降解反应。该技术有望提供更大的初始容量，在等效循环寿命内提供更大的充电深度，降低制造成本，最终将每千瓦时的LIB成本降低高达25%。在第一阶段，Coreshell将通过两个主要目标来展示这个价值的一部分。第一种是将电池的初始容量提高5%，并在200次循环后将总容量保持在原来的90%。第二个是证明含有Coreshell？s涂层电极可以避免SEI的形成，这将证明制造成本降低约7%的可行性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to dramatically improve Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB) technology in order to advance renewable energy penetration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. LIBs are not only a major component of the current consumer electronics industry - they are also becoming a key linchpin in the development of clean energy applications such as electric vehicles and grid storage. Their limited cost-competitiveness relative to fossil fuels, finite energy density, and limited lifetime are all still road blocks against mainstream adoption of these emerging applications. These issues all point toward a need for significant technical advancements that cannot be satisfied by simple economies of scale alone. Coreshell?s innovation is to introduce a cheap and scalable electrode coating technology that protects batteries against cycling degradation. The technology has the potential to yield a marked improvement in battery cost and performance, as well as a reduction in manufacturing rates by replacing a slow electrochemical step that can take days with a fast coating step that can be completed within minutes. If fully actualized, Coreshell?s coatings have the potential to revolutionize the LIB industry and enable widespread commercialization of clean energy technologies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of Coreshell?s unique electrode coating technology. The state-of-the-art electrode surface protection in LIBs is formed electrochemically and is termed ?SEI? (Solid-Electrolyte-Interphase). SEI is slow and expensive to make, inherently unstable, and consumes lithium thereby reducing capacity. This proposal is based on a novel proprietary coating in place of SEI, using a roll-to-roll process that can be seamlessly integrated into existing LIB manufacturing lines. By depositing well-formed coatings on the surface of battery electrodes, Coreshell?s technology can protect against many of the degrading reactions that occur during LIB cycling. The proposed technology has the promise to deliver greater initial capacity, greater depth-of-charge over equivalent cycle-life, reduced manufacturing costs and, ultimately, the potential to reduce LIB cost per kWh by up to 25%. In Phase I, Coreshell will demonstrate part of this value through two main objectives. The first is to increase initial battery capacity by 5% and retain the total capacity to 90% of original after 200 cycles. The second is to show that batteries incorporating Coreshell?s coated electrodes can eschew SEI formation, which would demonstrate the feasibility of ~7% reduction in manufacturing costs.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.