Cobalt-Free, High-Energy Cathodes for Electric Vehicle Batteries

The US economy relies on mobility, increasingly powered by lithium-ion batteries. State-of- the-art lithium-ion cathodes use significant amounts of cobalt, a vital component that can only be found in a few places on Earth. Nearly 65% of worldwide cobalt is mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where operations experience political violence and human rights violations. Due to cobalt’s poor geographical distribution, cobalt supply disruptions and price volatility have been a concern for many years; the booming EV market makes this problem a crisis, with shortages predicted by 2025 without changes in current cathode formulations. TexPower aims to commercialize the first cobalt-free, high-energy Li-ion battery cathodes that replace current cathodes Power-for-Powder without changes to other components, using only abundant metals, manufactured by standard processes. During Phase I, TexPower scaled synthesis of their zero-cobalt material from 10 g to 50 g per diem, and experimented with ways to improve the material performance. Additionally, TexPower explored ways to improve its cathode air stability, important for material handling and processing during the cell fabrication process.Different storage options were also surveyed which will aid in the shipping of material to customers. For Phase II, TexPower plans on scaling their synthesis to kilogram batches, which will be used to sample different potential customers. They will survey the composition, and a variety of treatments to improve energy density, cycle stability, power and safety. The University of Texas at Austin will lead an independent study on the thermal characteristics of the material at advanced states of charge, extremely important safety metrics. The material will be tested in large format cells prepared by the Battery Prototyping Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology in relevant sizes that can be compared to current commercial materials. Ultimately, this work will lead to the sampling of TexPower’s cobalt-free cathode material to potential customers. Since TexPower’s cathode materials can be exchanged with current cathode formulations, powder-for-powder, they have applications wherever portability is desired. The powder may be directly inserted into batteries of any form factor, prismatic, pouch or cylindrical. TexPower’s current cathode materials are formulated for electric vehicle applications, balancing energy, cycle stability, power and safety. Further formulations are planned for military applications which rely on stable supply chains, including drones and unmanned ground systems, Portable electronics applications are also possible candidates, such as for electric toothbrushes or shavers.