Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PSIONIC (High voltage, room temperature single-ion polymer electrolyte for safer all solid state lithium metal batteries)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-07-01 al 2023-12-31
The EU’s ambitious target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 urges the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly from the transportation sector. However, the green and clean transformation of the transport sector cannot be facilitated without significant advancements and meaningful developments in battery technology. The greatest challenges towards the worldwide success of battery-powered electric vehicles revolve around the safety, energy density, and cost of the battery. Solid-state polymer electrolytes and lithium metal anodes address these challenges by replacing the flammable and unstable liquid electrolytes and enabling dendrite-free cycling of high-energy lithium metal cells manufactured by sustainable and cost-effective processing. The PSIONIC project advances the development of all-solid-state battery technology by employing amorphous cross-linked Polyethylene oxide (PEO) laminated on the thin lithium foil at the anode and high voltage cathode coated with a single-ion conductive polymer.
The main objective of PSIONIC is to design all-solid-state batteries and prototype cells (the integral unit of the PSIONIC battery) with solvent-free, cost-effective extrusion processes by using a lithium metal anode and Lithium Nickel-rich Cobalt Manganese oxide (NCM) cathode (85% of Ni) in a combination with optimally designed polymer electrolyte interfaces to achieve unprecedented levels of safety and high ionic conductivity/transport while simultaneously attaining higher energy and power density. During the initial year of the PSIONIC Project, several objectives outlined during the proposal phase have already been tackled. Additionally, preparations for numerous other objectives have been initiated to ensure their successful implementation in the future.
During the first 18months, the PSIONIC project has been able to design a new positive electrode formulation; the latter is based on NCM 811 cathode active material, and uses a single ion polymer as the catholyte. As the aim of the project being to reduce the ecological footprint of batteries compared to current existing technologies, this cathode needed to be manufactured by a dry process, ie. Using any organic solvent, which has been achieved. Performing electrodes have been extruded by the partners and their performances have been assessed successfully.
In parallel, cheap solid polymer electrolytes have been developed and characterized ; they perform well at room temperature, opening the way for cheaper lithium metal battery designs that do not need any heating to deliver power. Currently, these electrolytes are being transferred to full systems to validate their compatibility with the positive electrode just described above.
Last but not least, the lithium metal anode is under improvement; partners work with thin lithium metal foils currently, around 30µm thick but they are improving it to reach even thinner films in order to reduce cost and improve energy density.
In parallel to the chemistry development activities, PSIONIC consortium is also focused on the recycling of the different element composing the future cell ; to that purpose, partners work not only on the lithium metal recovery but also the different polymers and the active material. Proof of concepts have been already made to recover active material in model lithium metal polymer chemistries.
During the first 18months, the PSIONIC project has been able to design a new positive electrode formulation; the latter is based on NCM 811 cathode active material, and uses a single ion polymer as the catholyte. As the aim of the project being to reduce the ecological footprint of batteries compared to current existing technologies, this cathode needed to be manufactured by a dry process, ie. Using any organic solvent, which has been achieved. Performing electrodes have been extruded by the partners and their performances have been assessed successfully.
In parallel, cheap solid polymer electrolytes have been developed and characterized ; they perform well at room temperature, opening the way for cheaper lithium metal battery designs that do not need any heating to deliver power. Currently, these electrolytes are being transferred to full systems to validate their compatibility with the positive electrode just described above.
Last but not least, the lithium metal anode is under improvement; partners work with thin lithium metal foils currently, around 30µm thick but they are improving it to reach even thinner films in order to reduce cost and improve energy density.
In parallel to the chemistry development activities, PSIONIC consortium is also focused on the recycling of the different element composing the future cell ; to that purpose, partners work not only on the lithium metal recovery but also the different polymers and the active material. Proof of concepts have been already made to recover active material in model lithium metal polymer chemistries.