The Development of a Low-Cost Separator with Improved Performance

70385 The performance advantages of lithium-ion batteries over conventional lead-acid batteries include higher specific energy (-150 Wh/kg), energy density (>325 Wh/L), and cycle life. While these advantages have lead to the recent growth of lithium-ion technology for various consumer applications, the high cost of these batteries has prevented their commercial use in electric and hybrid vehicles. Currently, the separator can contribute over 20% of the total cost of a li-ion cell for a hybrid electric vehicle battery, making it one of the cost drivers in a lithium-ion cell. To lower the cost, this project will develop inexpensive, macroporous separators for lithium-ion battery systems. In Phase I, template-directed fabrication methods will be used to prepare macroporous membranes with microporous interconnects from alumina-nanoparticle (alumoxanes) hybrid resin composites. These new materials will be prepared from inexpensive materials to lower the costs and tested for their performance in lithium-ion battery systems. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new separators could be used in most applications using lithium-ion technology including electric and hybrid automobiles, computers, cell phones and satellites.