Taming Ultrahigh Energy Cathodes with Stabilizing Coatings: Harnessing Atomic Layer Deposition to Employ High-Nickel, Cobalt-Free Cathodes in Electric Vehicles

With more than 1.5 million electric vehicles (EV) on American roads today and leading auto manufacturers gearing up for mass EV production, the public interest in a gasoline-free option is clear. However, before widespread adoption EVs must have greater ranges and lower cost. As a controlling factor in both metrics, the lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathode is a motivating place to innovate. Typically, high energy LIB cathodes contain cobalt to enhance safety and stability, but the element is costly, toxic, and has a troubling supply chain. To address these concerns, this project will bring an ultrahigh energy, cobalt-free (and therefore less expensive) cathode composition to the EV market. Presently only used for short-lived applications, this formulation’s high energy surface is reactive, shortening its cycle life below what is needed for a consumer EV. Here, stabilizing coatings grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) will be used to extend the usable lifetime of this ultrahigh energy formulation. The product of this effort will be a stabilized cathode with up to 10% higher energies than its state-of-the art cousins in the commercial market (e.g. lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) ‘811’ oxides) and ~8% lower Bill of Materials cost due to cobalt replacement. After initial development, this cathode will be easily scaled to mass production as it does not require the development of enabling technologies, only relying on equipment already demonstrated at scale. Once deployed, this disruptive technology will improve the range and cost of consumer EVs, increasing the utility and accessibility of electric-powered transportation.