Transitioning Advanced Ceramic Electrolytes into Manufacturable Solid-State EV Batteries
Technology Description:
This endeavor continues an OPEN 2015 project, focusing on scaling the technology initially developed by the University of Michigan from lab to pilot scale. Zakuro LLC (Zakuro) will develop a solid state battery using lithium lanthanum zirconate (LLZO), which is a ceramic electrolyte that contains no flammable liquid. LLZO is manufactured with a lithium-free anode, which substantially simplifies assembly. Zakuro aims to scale up production of the ceramic electrolyte pellets from a lab-scale batch process to an industry-standard, roll-to-roll process to enable efficient application of the cathode layer on the ceramic electrolyte. (The anode is the negative elctrode, and the cathode is the positive electrode in a battery cell.) Zakuro will demonstrate cells with twice the energy density of Li-ion (1000 watts per liter) and high specific energy (333 watts per kilogram). The cell will be able to retain 80% of its capacity after charging and discharging 500 times at 1C-rate, or the rate at which a battery discharges in an hour.
Potential Impact:
Overcoming manufacturing challenges could reduce the cost of solid-state batteries and help enable greater deployment for transportation and stationary storage applications.