Enhanced Charge Retention and Rate Capability in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Fractal Systems Inc proposes to develop lithium ion batteries with significantly improved energy density, charge retention and cycle life compared to existing Li-Ion technologies through the use of improved active materials for powering electronic equipment used in the military and commercial sectors. These cells will consist of anodes made of high surface area high capacity silicon nanostructures with a morphology that will allow to by-pass the effects of volume changes upon cycling. As a result, the cells will yield a long cycle life with a minimal or no capacity fade. The cells built in conjunction with state of the art cell components and packaging will be tested including safety issues to demonstrate feasibility of our approach through charge/discharge cycling and energy capacity studies at various temperatures. Prototypes will be custom designed towards the end of the effort. To ensure success of our three-phase effort, we have teamed up with a major battery R&D and manufacturing company. Materials and processes will be optimized in Phase II towards a viable lithium ion battery technology which would be of great value for portable electronics and appliances, vehicular applications, medical devices, satellites, electric storage for solar cells and wind power stations.