Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SodiScale (Cheaper, better batteries from common, safe and available raw materials)
Período documentado: 2022-06-01 hasta 2023-05-31
Electrification of transport and transition to renewable energy generation are essential to reach CO2 neutrality by 2050. To stay on track, by 2030 the annual production of electric vehicles needs to be 10 times higher than it was in 2020. In parallel, electrification of the grid, via the use of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, requires massive investments in energy storage to balance the intermittent generation of energy from these sources. Batteries are at the core of sustainable electrification. However, battery technology is also becoming an increasingly serious bottleneck. The high cost of batteries makes EVs expensive compared to internal combustion engine-powered cars and is prohibitively expensive for large scale grid storage needs and there is still no solution to economically recycle Li-ion batteries. While performance problems could be solved with evolutionary development, the scalability of battery production has natural limitations that are not in line with our vision for the future. Modern batteries rely on raw materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel, all of which are already in short supply when the green boom is just beginning.
BroadBit has developed a fundamentally new battery technology for cheaper and safer batteries to fuel our future. Our platform technology is customisable for standard battery cell formats, and our batteries are a “plug-and-replace” alternative for today’s Li-ion technology in EVs, electronics and grid storage applications. Compared to state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries, we enable superior performance – for the same cost, EVs powered by our battery could drive 2-3 times farther and grid storage capacity could be increased by the same factor at the same price. BroadBit’s battery technology further allows for scaling to any production volume as we use low cost, safe and widely available raw materials and improved environmental friendliness including a 50% reduction in emissions in production. Moreover, our batteries are non-flammable, non-toxic, easily recyclable. This is achieved with sodium-based chemistry and simplified production processes. Today, a decade after the original invention, the technology is validated with pilot customers, heavily patented, and awarded.
BroadBit has developed a fundamentally new battery technology for cheaper and safer batteries to fuel our future. Our platform technology is customisable for standard battery cell formats, and our batteries are a “plug-and-replace” alternative for today’s Li-ion technology in EVs, electronics and grid storage applications. Compared to state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries, we enable superior performance – for the same cost, EVs powered by our battery could drive 2-3 times farther and grid storage capacity could be increased by the same factor at the same price. BroadBit’s battery technology further allows for scaling to any production volume as we use low cost, safe and widely available raw materials and improved environmental friendliness including a 50% reduction in emissions in production. Moreover, our batteries are non-flammable, non-toxic, easily recyclable. This is achieved with sodium-based chemistry and simplified production processes. Today, a decade after the original invention, the technology is validated with pilot customers, heavily patented, and awarded.
As we began the project, we discovered several unique aspects of our technology particularly suited for long term energy storage; an application not sufficiently served by any available battery technology, but critical for the energy transition. Thus, the bulk of the work carried out has been to demonstrate optimized cell structure for our chosen target application: long term, low cycle batteries for home and grid scale seasons energy storage. To this end we have optimized cathode, anode, electrolyte and spacer material compositions and processes and cell structure and composition, focusing on cell capacity, power, cycle life and safety.
Based on the unique aspects of our cell chemistry, we have developed multiple “thick-cathode” cell structures to minimize cell assembly steps and maximize cell performance. Thus, we have eliminated the need to use the complex traditional Li-ion cell assembly equipment and processes. We have also developed a modified electrolyte with low vapor pressure compatible with pouch cells and lead-acid type cells and made modifications to the sodium-salt used in the cathode, which further reduce material costs and reduce hygroscopicity and have made working prototypes maintaining high efficiency high efficiency and demonstrating improved energy density applicable for long term energy storage applications. BroadBit has produced test pouch cells, “bucket” cells, and lead-acid type prismatic cells in-house.
Based on the unique aspects of our cell chemistry, we have developed multiple “thick-cathode” cell structures to minimize cell assembly steps and maximize cell performance. Thus, we have eliminated the need to use the complex traditional Li-ion cell assembly equipment and processes. We have also developed a modified electrolyte with low vapor pressure compatible with pouch cells and lead-acid type cells and made modifications to the sodium-salt used in the cathode, which further reduce material costs and reduce hygroscopicity and have made working prototypes maintaining high efficiency high efficiency and demonstrating improved energy density applicable for long term energy storage applications. BroadBit has produced test pouch cells, “bucket” cells, and lead-acid type prismatic cells in-house.
The combination of BroadBit’s low-cost, environmentally friendly, scalable and sustainable raw materials and BroadBit’s newly discovered thick-cathode cell structure is an important development in the state-of-the-art. A traditional Li-ion cell requires the use of extremely thin electrodes, which must be carefully aligned to achieve the performance and safety requirements (e.g. eliminating the possibility of internal short circuits due to misalignment or dendrite formation). The associated electrode coating and cell assembly processes make up approximately 90% of the process and capital expenses for Li-ion cell manufacturing. BroadBit’s newly discovered cell cathode properties eliminate the need for these complex coating and assembly processes and so also eliminate 90% of the process and capital costs for cell production. The combination of BroadBit’s exceptionally low process and material costs, exceptionally high sustainability and scalability combined with BroadBit’s exceptionally high round trip efficiency and exceptionally low self discharge rate result in a unique long term energy storage battery uniquely suited to address the energy storage needs for renewable energy grids.