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As energy capacityneeds grow, lithium-ion batteries — the best battery technologycurrently available — are rapidly approaching their limits.
Manufacturers arestruggling to increase energy capacity without increasing the weightor cost of the battery. That’s why the race is on to develop themarket’s first solid-state battery — one that uses a solidelectrolyte in place of the liquid or gel found in lithium-ionbatteries.
Withmultiple companies at the forefront of this emerging technology, thekey challenges have been developing a design that’s easy tomanufacture at scale and functional in the larger format batteriesneeded for vehicles and storage systems. Electrovaya Inc. (OTCQB: EFLVF), already one of the industry’s leaders with itssafe, long-lasting lithium-ion battery, is optimistic that itsinnovative hybrid solid-state battery prototype is moving closer tocommercialization. Here’s how it compares to some of the otherleading solid-state platforms in development.
Electrovaya’s Solid State Battery FeaturesUnique Attributes Already Used in Its Commercial Lithium-IonBattery
Electrovaya’s hybrid lithium metal battery features a lithiummetal anode with a ceramic separator and a solid compositeelectrolyte. In the lateststudy results of the proprietary hybrid battery, coin cellsamples reached 300 cycles with 94% capacity retention. Thosepreliminary results are a promising sign that the technology can meetthe 800 cycles with 80% capacity retention target for a battery to beused in an electric vehicle.
The Company’s proprietary woven ceramic separatortechnology improvesflexibility , one of the key drawbacks of using ceramic, whilestill boasting high heat resistance and longevity. r Electrovaya hasalso demonstrated its ability to implement ceramic separators at scaleas to it has already been used in thousands of the company’s infinitybatteries , high-powered lithium-ion batteries with one of thelongest-lasting designs in the industry. That includes large-formatbatteries that power heavy equipment, buses and provide grid-scaleenergy storage.
That makes its solid-state battery one of the few indevelopment that uses approaches that have already beencommercialized. That, along with the low-cost solvent-free coating andElectrovaya’s ability to manufacture the solid-state platform atscale using its existing process, give the company an edge oncommercializing its hybrid lithium metal battery sooner. The companyaims to begin providing samples of its solid-stateplatform next year .
Quantumscape’s Early Stage Prototype Shows Promise
QuantumscapeCorp. (NYSE: QS), another pioneer in the solid-state batteryspace, uses a proprietary ceramic separator and an organic gelelectrolyte in its hybrid lithium metal battery. This gives it theheat resistance and high conductivity benefits of ceramic. However,it’s still in the development stage and Quantumscape has not yetgone through the safety and efficacy testing to determine whether itsdesign will work in consumer vehicles.
Initial study results of smaller prototypes ofthe technology are promising, though, demonstrating a long batterylife of over 1,000 cycles with about 90% capacity retention and theability to charge up to 80% in just 15 minutes.
SES AI Opts for Ceramic-Free Design In ItsLater-Stage Prototype
Like Electrovaya, SES AI Corp. (NYSE: SES) is working ona hybrid design that incorporates both solid and liquid layers into alightweight, less flammable battery. The lithium metal batteries SESis developing, however, use a polymer coating rather than ceramic.While more flexible and less susceptible to damage from dendrites —a kind of corrosion that happens as the battery ages — it has lowerionic conductivity and less heat resistance compared toceramic.
LastNovember, SES unveiled Apollo, the scaled-up version of its Li-Metal battery, which is largeenough to power a car. The prototype is one of the first lithium-metalbatteries to be built to this size and boasts an energy density of 417watt-hours per kilogram and weighs less than two pounds. However, thehybrid battery still has years of safety and performance testingbefore it can find its way into consumer vehicles.
Solid Power Is Betting On Its ProprietarySulfide Solid Electrolyte
Solid Power Inc. (NASDAQ: SLDP) is workingon a couple of all-solid-state battery designs, including one of thefew to use an anode made primarily of silicon. Silicon is lighter thanmetal and more resistant to damage, making it an attractivealternative . But silicon can swell up to 300% of its original size, creating cracks and significantly decreasingenergy storage. Fortunately, because the solid-state design doesn’thave the flammable liquids of a standard lithium-ion battery, SolidPower has been able to address that challenge.
What stands out mostabout its design, though, is the sulfide solid electrolyte. Acting asboth an electrolyte and a barrier between the anode and cathode, SolidPower’s proprietary sulfide-based solid electrolyte offers goodconductivity and simple manufacturability. However, the challenge with using sulfides is that they don’t prevent dendrites and theycan be unstable. These are both especially big problems in batteriescontaining lithium. Solid Power says its proprietary electrolyte hasbeen tuned for lithium metal stability.
About ElectrovayaInc.
Electrovaya Inc. (TSX:EFL) (OTCQB:EFLVF) is apioneering leader in the global energy transformation, focused oncontributing to the prevention of climate change by supplying safe andlong-lasting lithium-ion batteries without compromising energy andpower. Electrovaya is a technology-focused company with extensive IP,designs, develops, and manufactures proprietary lithium-ion batteries,battery systems, and battery-related products for energy storage,clean electric transportation, and other specialized applications.Company's Infinity line of batteries is focused on commercialvehicles and its Solid State Technology under Development is focusedon passenger vehicles. To learn more about how Electrovaya is poweringmobility and energy storage, please explorewww.electrovaya.com.
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