SBIR Phase II: High Energy Density Lithium-ion Battery Cells With Graphenic Anodes

"This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development and adoption of next generation portable energy storage devices. Lithium-ion batteries are the most common energy storage technology for a wide variety of applications. Most recently, they have been adopted by small to medium sized Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and electric vehicles (EV). The weight carrying capacity and flight/operating time and range of these UAS and EV are issues mainly dependent on battery components and materials. With the proposed lithium-ion battery technology, high-capacity, lightweight, and advanced batteries may store significantly more energy without increasing their weight. The development and integration of the next generation battery technology may significantly increase the performance of battery powered vehicles and their adoption by society. This technology has the potential to have a drastic commercial impact in the UAS/drone industry; For example, with successful batteries, medicine, blood, and organs can be quickly delivered to remote locations on unmanned platforms. Utility workers may be able to identify pipeline leaks or transmission line damages in advance of an accident and packages may be delivered faster, with significantly less carbon footprint, along with myriad of other applications. This SBIR Phase II project seeks to develop high capacity, lightweight lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells with a novel carbon-based anode component. Existing LIBs still utilize graphite with additives as the primary anode material due to their ability to restore the charge and provide consistency in voltage. However, graphite's limited capacity (theoretically, 372 mAh/g) prohibits the development of long lasting, higher energy density (over 340 Wh/kg) LIBs. Graphite's internal structure limits sufficient lithium diffusion into interlayer spaces. This project offers a new class of higher energy density (over 500 Wh/kg) LIBs, with an innovative multilayer graphenic anode. Replacing graphite with the multilayer graphenic anode offers a solution in overcoming the issue of the limited capacity of the carbon anode. This patent-pending, commercially feasible, only carbon-based anode has the unique capability of an intense lithium (Li) intercalation within its networks. The large Li/electrolyte interface contributes enhanced charge-transfer kinetics, resulting in effective charge/discharge cycling throughout hundreds of cycles with over 1500 mAh/g specific capacity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria."