Temperature-Tolerant, Critical Metal-Free, Lithium-ion Batteries using Organic Cathodes

The rapid expansion of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has highlighted a critical vulnerability in U.S. energy security: the reliance on foreign-sourced critical metals like cobalt, nickel, and manganese. These metals, integral to traditional LIB cathodes, pose significant supply chain risks due to limited availability and geopolitical dependencies. Current cobalt- and nickel-based cathodes, while high-performing, suffer from high costs and limitations in thermal stability, while alternatives such as LiFePO4 (LFP) trade off energy density for affordability. For the U.S. Army, these constraints impact the reliability, safety, and operational capability of energy storage systems essential for defense. Daqus Energy Inc. proposes a breakthrough solution with its organic cathode material, bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone (TAQ). Unlike conventional cathodes, TAQ is entirely metal-free, comprising only carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, which are abundant and locally available. TAQ’s co-planar ?-conjugated backbone and extensive hydrogen bonding network enable it to achieve high energy densities—up to 850 Wh/kg—and excellent cyclic stability. Moreover, TAQ demonstrates stable performance across a wide temperature range, ensuring operational reliability in extreme environments. The proposed Phase I effort will focus on scaling up TAQ synthesis, developing prelithiation techniques to couple with lithium-free anodes, and demonstrating TAQ's performance in pouch cell prototypes. This approach not only enhances material scalability but also establishes TAQ as a viable drop-in replacement for existing LIB technologies.