Additives for Improved Cell Reliability

This Small Business Innovation Research project will develop new additive strategies to improve the cost and cell reliability of Li-ion batteries for electric vehicle applications. Xilectric’s technology seeks to dramatically improve Li-ion abuse tolerance to high temperatures and voltages by better maintaining the Li-ion electrolyte. Our additives improve the capacity retention and rate capabilities of Li-ion batteries. Through this SBIR project, Xilectric will accelerate the development of our additives and begin chemical process development studies needed to bring our materials to the market. Xilectric will also develop tailored derivatives for application to emerging use-case scenarios. For example, high-nickel cathode materials are an important next-generation EV cathode due to their high capacity, rate capability, and low cost. A subset of the development work on this SBIR program will focus on the requirements of emerging high-nickel cathodes. The key to driving down the cost of Li-ion to further promote adoption of the high-value end products such as electric vehicles is to reduce the material input cost of the anodes, cathode, and other materials that comprise the cell. Despite being low-cost, the materials must also present adequate calendar and cycle life for the given product application. Li-ion manufacturers would prefer to use the lowest cost materials, but need to balance cost with customer expectations for high-quality long-lasting batteries. Through this SBIR program, Xilectric will developed a new additive strategy that enables lower-cost active materials to be used in Li-ion batteries while still presenting superior calendar and cycle life.