The California Lithium Battery start-up has announced performance data for its latest silicon graphene composite anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Independent test results in full cell batteries indicate the new anode material, used with advanced cathode and electrolyte materials, trebles energy density and quadruples specific anode capacity compared with existing lithium-ion batteries.
For eight months CalBattery has been working with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to achieve to achieve new levels of lithium-ion battery performance with new anode material. The work is now said to be demonstrating a battery energy density of 525WH/kg and specific anode capacity of 1,250mAh/g, compared with most commercial lithium-ion batteries’ energy density of between 100 and 180WH/kg and a typical specific anode capacity of 325mAh/g.
“This equates to more than a 300% improvement in LIB capacity and an estimated 70% reduction in lifetime cost for batteries used in consumer electronics, EVs, and grid-scale energy storage,” claimed CalBattery Chief Executive Officer Phil Roberts.
The new anode material deploys an Argonne-developed silicon graphene process which stabilises the use of silicon in an anode. Although silicon absorbs lithium ten times better than any other anode material, it deteriorates rapidly during charge/discharge cycles. CalBattery has worked at Argonne and other facilities over the past year to develop this new anode material to work in a full lithium-ion battery cell with multiple cathode and electrolyte materials. “We believe that our new advanced silicon graphene anode composite material is so good in terms of specific capacity and extended cycle life that it will become a graphite anode ‘drop-in’ replacement material for anodes in most lithium-ion batteries over the next 2-3 years,” said Roberts, who hopes it may lead to lithium-ion batteries being produced for under US$175/kWh, capable of competing directly with the cost of energy from fossil fuels.
Over the next two years CalBattery plans to produce and sell its si-graphene anode material to global battery and EV OEMs, and to produce in the US a limited quantity of specialised batteries for high-end applications. CalBattery is headquartered at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), which was started by The City of LA and the LA Department of Water and Power in 2011. It plans to set up silicon graphene anode material and battery manufacturing operations in the Los Angeles area.
