Nanostructured Electrodes for High Energy Lithium Batteries

Portable power requirements from the Department of Defense continually demand greater specific energy and power from lithium battery technology. In the private sector, the theme is the same, more energy in a smaller package to power sophisticated electronics and electric vehicles. The advent of Li-ion battery technology has meant that batteries have finally become high-energy devices. While this is a move in the right direction, the specific energy of Li-ion (~130-150Wh/kg) still falls short of what is demanded, >400Wh/kg, from a rechargeable device. New materials need to be developed to close this energy gap. Carbon nanotubes offer a new opportunity to meet these energy demands. The proposed Phase II research effort seeks to expand upon our recent successful Phase I program in which we demonstrated a lab scale all carbon nanotube battery with a specific energy exceeding 600Wh/kg. The proposed effort will focus on scaling up the methods required to produce prototype pouch batteries with a specific energy >400Wh/kg. The emphasis will be to use commercial materials to make the battery cost-effective. The effort will culminate with the delivery of working prototype pouch batteries.