Meeting European energy storage in transport, stationary and emerging sectors requires an annual cell capacity of at least 200 GWh in the next 5 years, calling for urgent development of new materials for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that increase energy/power density at lower costs. Silicon, an abundant material with a 10-fold higher capacity than graphite, has shown promise as an anode material when appropriately nanostructured. The challenge is in producing nanostructured Si networks using simple and scalable processes leading to thick electrodes that are ultimately economically feasible.
SiNERGY addressed this challenge by advancing a new method for continuous production of Si anodes for high energy density LIBs, using a method that eliminates several manufacturing steps, offers feasible scale-up, and unlocks high areal capacity. The project demonstrated the fabrication of industrial-quality, large-area electrodes. It validated the seamless integration of Si anodes in pouch cells using industrial machinery, thanks to the textile structure of these anodes. An analysis of the techno-economic scale-up of the manufacturing process up to the level required to supply a gigafactory was conducted. A business plan to increase production and improve performance in order to supply anodes for non-EV and EV markets was prepared with external advisors, also including input from LIB producers.
The spinoff company Floatech (
https://floatech.eu/(si apre in una nuova finestra)) founded in 2021, holds IPR over this Si anode technology and is pursuing investment to carry out the business plan prepared.
