Surion Energy Limited

Surion Energy - a new company developing electrode materials for next generation Li-ion batteries - has recently launched its new website. A link to the Surion site may be found here:

Surion Energy Limited

Surion Energy is located at the Culham Science Centre, close to Oxford in the UK. The company is attempting to exploit its proprietary Li2FeS2 cathode technology to meet the growing demand for large format Li-ion batteries for electric vehicle applications.

Jerry

IMLB-2010

Jerry will be presenting at the up-coming 15th International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB-2010) to be held in Montreal, Canada during June 27 and July 2.

More information on this important conference may be found here:

15th International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB-2010)

Jerry

Li-ion Rechargeable Batteries: Novel Materials

The review article entitled 'Lithium-ion Rechargeable Batteries: Novel Materials' by Jerry Barker has now been published in the 'Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology' (Elsevier, January 2010). The review gives an overview and summary of the present status of anode and cathode materials.

The abstract for the article may be found here:

Lithium-ion Rechargeable Batteries: Novel Materials

The encyclopedia contains several other articles in the energy storage sector that you may find useful.

Jerry

Li2FePO4F - A Fluorophosphate active material for Li-ion Applications

Following on from our previous discussions regarding the LiMPO4F (M = Fe, Mn, V, Cr etc.) and Li2MPO4F (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni etc.) active materials for Li-ion applications, a recent paper by Linda Nazar et al. describes the electrochemistry of the LiFePO4F- Li2FePO4F insertion system. The abstract to this manuscript may be found here:

Tavorite Lithium Iron Fluorophosphate Cathode Materials, ESL 13, A43, 2010

The use of these materials in Li-ion batteries is covered in several US patents and patent applications (inventors J. Barker and co-workers).

Jerry

LiV2O5 - An under-rated active material for Li-ion applications

Gamma-LiV2O5 may represent an inexpensive and safe cathode alternate to LiFePO4 for large format Li-ion applications. Preliminary analysis suggests that this active material should cost less than $20/kg to mass produce.

Further information may be found here:

Perfomance Evaluation of LiV2O5 - J. Barker et al. (2003)

In summary, the electrochemical evaluation of Gamma-LiV2O5 indicates that the active material is capable of cycling at a specific capacity of 130 mAh/g - a performance that compares favorably with the theoretical figure of 142 mAh/g. This material utilization corresponds to the reversible cycling of x = 0.92 in Gamma-LixV2O5 – a remarkably high charge efficiency. The average discharge voltage is around 3.4 V vs Li. High-resolution electrochemical evaluation indicates the lithium insertion reactions may be characterized in two separate but highly reversible processes.

The long-term electrochemical stability of the active material has been demonstrated clearly by lifetime cycling experiments in a graphite based Li-ion configuration. The cells show low first cycle charge inefficiency as well as demonstrating two hundred charge-discharge cycles with relatively low capacity fade behavior.

Jerry

Lithium: The Key Resource

As we fast move towards an economy dominated by electric vehicles powered by Li-ion battery technology, the cost and abundance of lithium will become a major political and commercial issue. Some recent reports have questioned the long term viability of lithium.

A report by the Technology Review summarizes the latest position. The Review expects demand for the metal to double in the next 10 years, and Bolivia, with an untapped resource estimated at nine million tons by the U.S. Geological Survey, is being called a potential "Saudi Arabia of lithium."

More information (with great pictures) may be found here:

The Lithium Rush

Companies involved in energy storage will need to continually adopt to these new market conditions, and the exploration of novel technologies not based on lithium will need to be examined.

Jerry

Sodium-ion Batteries: Interest Grows

Following on from my post last month regarding the upsurge of interest in Sodium-ion technology, 44 Tech, a start-up company based in Pittsburgh, PA, will receive $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, as part of the 2009 Recovery Act, to develop aqueous sodium-ion batteries. These cells will differ from the non-aqueous counterparts described by me in an earlier post, in that they will operate at much lower voltage (due to the limited voltage stability window of the electrolyte). On the positive side, if these systems can be demonstrated successfully, they may prove extremely safe and inexpensive.

The full story may be found here:

Sodium-ion Cells for Cheap Energy Storage

Jerry

Imara: Battery Start-up Closes

The GreenTechMedia website has reported that Imara, the Li-ion battery start-up company located in Menlo Park, California, has ceased operations.

The report can be found here:

GreenTechMedia reports the demise of Imara

Imara's company website can be found here:

Imara Corporation

Recent reports have suggested that the company has experienced a delay in ramping up operations and could not line up investors to build a factory. Imara had started to make prototype and sample quantities of batteries in its Menlo Park, Calif. facility.

Imara employed 38 scientists and engineers. It will try to sell its assets and intellectual property but right now the company is shut down.

GreenTechMedia speculates that the demise of Imara could portend bad news for other green startups. The battery business is generally dominated by large, Asian manufacturers and many of the grants from the Department of Energy did go to joint ventures partly owned by foreign companies. Two joint ventures with South Korean partners – Dow Kokam and Compact Power – received $312.4 million earlier this year from the DOE. Only a few U.S.-based lithium-ion battery makers such as A123 Systems and EnerDel have received stimulus funds.

Jerry

Nexeon - Unique Silicon Li-ion Anode Technology

Nexeon, the UK-based Li-ion battery materials and licensing company has launched its new website:

Nexeon - Unique Silicon Li-ion Anode Technology

The company is developing nano-structured silicon materials for incorporation into next generation lithium-ion batteries.

The website reports that recent tests have shown that low first cycle loss and extended cycle life can be achieved using Nexeon’s silicon anode materials at a lower cost than graphite for a given capacity. The low-cost silicon anode technology demonstrates a clear commercial viability compared to other more expensive approaches such as silicon nano-fibres, ribbons or tubes.

Nexeon has developed a number of materials, proprietary processes and equipment for producing the material and for making electrodes. It has 12 patent families in progress worldwide, the first of which is granted and others which are now being published. This includes patents on high-aspect ratio silicon materials and the use of such materials in lithium ion batteries.

Focus: Titanate Cathode Materials for Li-ion Batteries

Lithium metal titanate and zironate compounds phases are currently experiencing significant interest as potential new cathode active materials for next generation Li-ion batteries. Jerry Barker (and co-workers) is the named inventor on the issued US patents covering the use of LiMTiO4 and LiMZrO4 (where M= +3 oxidation state transition metal, US#6,103,419); and Li2MTiO4 and Li2MZrO4 (where M = +2 oxidation state transition metal, US#6,720,113) materials; in these energy storage applications.

Further information about these materials and their performance in Li-ion cells may be found in the issued US patents. Links to these patents may be found here:

J.Barker et al. US#6103419; LiMTiO4 and LiMZrO4 Cathode Materials (M = V, Cr, Fe, Mn etc.)

J.Barker et al. US#6720113; Li2MTiO4 and Li2MZrO4 Cathode Materials (M= Fe, Mn, Ni, Co etc.)

The US patent covering the novel synthesis method for some of these materials may be found here:

J.Barker et al. US#6706445; Titanate and Zirconate Synthesis Method

Jerry