Researchers have discovered how to overcome technical challenges that hindered the use of stabilized lithium metal powder in commercial applications. The plan is to incorporate a safe form of the lithium powder into any type of Li-ion battery, including those used for electric vehicles, enabling greater energy density, extended cycle-life and reduced manufacturing costs.
Up to now, technical challenges have hindered the use of FMC’s stabilized lithium metal powder (SLMP) in commercial applications.
Non-stabilized lithium powder is unstable when exposed to air. FMC's SLMP is coated with a protective layer to stabilize the lithium. As a result, the stabilized lithium is safe to handle in the dry room environment. However, SLMP is not compatible with conventional binder and solvent slurry materials. This led the researchers to develop a polymer binder and solvent system, which demonstrated compatibility with SLMP, thus enabling it for slurry processing.
Polymer binder system
The polymer binder/solvent system also allows the SLMP to be evenly distributed in the electrode, enabling better use of each lithium particle in the SLMP material. Argonne researchers also developed new methods to activate the SLMP. Compression of the electrode laminates is typically employed to activate SLMP particles. The battery manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced due to the simplified SLMP activation method developed by Argonne.
"Our fundamental research on the SLMP technology and development of new methods to apply the lithium metal product into high-energy Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles is an example of how national laboratories can aid US companies to increase their competitive advantage in the global marketplace," said Argonne chemist John Zhang.
Argonne has patents pending on the polymer binder and solvent technologies, as well as the activation method.
US government support
The project is part of the Integrated Laboratories and Industry Research Program, which is supported by the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.