Nano-Engineered Anodes for Lithium-ion Batteries

Renewable energy and energy storage both play a very important part in the emerging energy landscape, especially when used in concert. An example of an often-cited ¿ideal situation¿ is one where renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind, generate electricity that can then either be stored in electric vehicle batteries for transportation or in battery energy storage systems for off-grid energy and power management. Hence, high-power and extended life batteries are going to be a major piece of the energy equation going forward. This project addresses the enhancement of a key component of high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which are emerging as the future of battery energy storage. This enhanced component, a nano-engineered lithium titanate (nGLTO) will be made in a low-cost single-step process. Phase I established a single-step process for making high-capacity lithium titanate in ¿pilot-scale¿ volumes exceeding 1kg per day. The non-optimized prototype cells were shown to be able to cycle for up to 200 cycles. In Phase II, the particle morphology of the lithium titanate will be fine tuned to optimize performance and enable production of over 10kg/day. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The lithium titanate should enable the use of high-power and extended-life lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and stationary battery energy storage systems. Future marketing opportunities for lithium titanate include automotive, space, military, and stationary energy storage applications