Most industry commentators conclude that improved battery technology is likely to be the lynchpin that takes electric vehicles (EVs) firmly into the mainstream. But this poses an important question: should automakers and suppliers focus on developing a game-changing new chemistry or improve the technology they already have?
Tracy Kelley, President and Chief Science Officer at Sion Power, believes lithium-ion batteries still have a lot to offer. However, the technology cannot progress without some significant alterations. Through more than 20 years of R&D, Sion Power has developed a high-energy battery using a lithium-metal anode that resolves historical durability issues associated with the chemistry. The company calls this product Licerion.
Kelley discusses with Automotive World why current automotive industry challenges make lithium-ion improvements essential, how Licerion can boost EV performance, and the role anode innovation could play in boosting EV adoption over the long term.
What constraining factors make next-gen lithium-ion necessary?
Energy is a big problem, and that’s mainly due to material limitations. Lithium-ion technology saw gradual increases in energy capacity for a long time, but then it started to plateau around five or six years ago. That made it difficult to optimise cell designs and translate them into cost savings or other crucial performance characteristics, such as driving range and charge times.
How does Sion Power address this plateau with Licerion?
If EVs are going to progress as products, increasing energy density needs to go hand-in-hand with durability when developing new battery tech.
With Licerion, we take out a graphite anode, which is commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, and replace it with a thin-film lithium-metal anode. This is advantageous because it’s both much lighter and thinner than graphite, increasing the battery’s energy-to-weight and energy-to-volume ratios simultaneously.
Furthermore, Licerion enables us to stabilise lithium-metal across the entire lifetime of a lithium-ion battery. Sion Power developed an novel approach to address this issue: without our IP and know-how, charging and discharging a lithium-metal battery creates dendrites that can reduce cycle life and eventually short out the cell. That could be extremely dangerous for the people driving in that EV.
Are any OEMs currently utilising lithium-metal batteries?
At the moment, there are no applications of scale, but Sion Power is endeavouring to help realise this first. We have partnerships with two major automakers and two large battery makers to scale lithium-metal technology sufficiently for commercial use in vehicles. By H1 2025, we aim to produce the first EV-viable cell sizes and commence validation.
What could automakers expect in terms of improved EV performance?
Sion Power can double the energy delivery of lithium-ion today. If a state-of-the-art battery is 250kWh per kilogram, we can approach 450kWh/kg with Licerion. In the first instance, that extra power can dramatically increase EV range. On the other hand, an automaker could use that boost to reduce the number of cells in an energy storage system and produce the same size battery at a lower cost.
A key advantage of Licerion is that it’s material agnostic for the most widely used lithium-ion chemistries. For high-performance vehicle applications, it can enhance cells using a nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode. In lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which are typically targeted at more affordable EVs, Licerion can reduce unit cost while still delivering the same amount of energy.
Why is it better to improve lithium-ion than invest in alternative chemistries?
Solid-state batteries are still under development and manufacturing them will be very different. Licerion technology draws on the same supply chains and processing techniques already in place for standard lithium-ion, so those billions of dollars already invested in current infrastructure won’t go to waste.
Consumers need to feel they’re not sacrificing anything in order to gain access [to EVs]
Sion Power has worked on lithium-sulphur batteries for aerospace applications over the last two decades. However, we were unable to bridge the performance gap that would make it applicable for automotive, and that’s one of the reasons we pivoted to lithium-metal instead.
Given enough time and effort, I believe both these alternative technologies could eventually work. But the main advantage of the Licerion battery system is its faster time-to-market: the further you deviate from the norm, particularly in a risk-averse industry like automotive, the longer introductory engineering periods will be. Taking a pragmatic view and changing only what’s essential for addressing the shortfalls of lithium-ion—range, charge times, etc.—will help OEMs bring better EVs to market faster.
Overall, what role do you hope lithium-metal could play in broadening EV adoption?
Cost is still a huge impediment to mass EV uptake: the industry needs to aim for US$35,000 or less. At the same time, consumers need to feel they’re not sacrificing anything in order to gain access. A high-energy system can deliver the performance customers want at a price that’s compelling, and Licerion addresses those two needs while keeping safety paramount.
