Rechargeable Battery Manufacturing Improvements

Current Li-ion technology with respect to its electrochemistry and manufacturing technique is still LiCoO2-based and packaged in cylindrical configuration popularly known as the "18650" cell. For larger cell sizes ranging from 10-100Ah, traditional parallel plate cell stacking technique is the most common cell assembly technique. In this Phase I project, MaxPower intends to introduce a fan-folding cell assembly concept and bring to it to a finalized design using an electrochemical system that would allow a direct comparison between this assembly system and the system currently developed for pilot scale manufacturing. In a parallel task, MaxPower will also develop an electrochemical system with greater inherent stability than the current lithium ion systems by building a limited baseline database using cells containing Li4Ti5O12 and a Li1.11Ni0.37Co0.18Mn0.37O2 as the negative and positive electrodes, respectively. This approach will produce a design for an automated machine that will be able to produce cells at an increased rate with built in flexibility as well as a lithium ion system that has a greater margin of safety on the cell level.