SILICON WHISKER AND CARBON NANOFIBER COMPOSITE ANODE PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A SIL…

Public award description

SILICON WHISKER AND CARBON NANOFIBER COMPOSITE ANODE PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A SILICON WHISKER AND CARBON NANOFIBER COMPOSITE ANODE FOR LITHIUM ION BATTERIES ON A PHASE I PROGRAM. THIS ANODE PROVIDES HIGH CAPACITY, HIGH POWER, AND IMPROVED CYCLE LIFE AT A COMPETITIVE COST. SILICON IS LOW COST AND HAS A THEORETICAL CAPACITY OF 4200 MAH/G BUT IT HAS A LIMITED CYCLE LIFE. THE NANOCOMPOSITE DESIGN PROVIDES A SYNERGISTIC IMPROVEMENT IN REVERSIBLE CAPACITY AND ELECTROCHEMICAL CYCLING AS A RESULT OF THE UNIQUE SILICON ARCHITECTURE AND STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT PROVIDED BY THE NANOFIBERS. IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM, PSI WILL DEMONSTRATE A TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL OF 3 WITH AN ANODE CAPACITY OF GREATER THAN 1000 MAH/G FOR OVER 100 CYCLES (100% DEPTH-OF-DISCHARGE) USING 2 MAH CELLS. THESE PERFORMANCE GOALS WILL RESULT IN AN OVERALL BATTERY ENERGY DENSITY OF GREATER THAN 300 WH/KG. IN THE PHASE II PROGRAM, PSI WILL INCREASE CELL SIZE TO 2500 MAH AND OPTIMIZE CELL DESIGN TO FURTHER IMPROVE CYCLE LIFE.