GDI is depositing 100% Si based anodes directly onto a current collector from a silane gas utilizing a roll to roll plasma enhanced chemical deposition process that has been developed and scaled up by thin film solar companies. The manufacturing process equipment set and processing gasses are manufactured worldwide, with a large supply manufactured in the US leveraging hydro-power to make it cost effective. The roll to roll PECVD process is a highly automated process with technicians needed mainly for substrate loading and unloading purposes. GDI deposits the Si anode in a single step allowing for a reduction in manufacturing lead time and for manufacturing throughput to be increased by adding process shifts. GDI will be investigating a different plasma processing technology that has the ability to increase process throughput by 3X and increase the silane utilization to 90% which combined could reduce the cost of the Si anode by a projected 30%. During this work processing conditions will be optimized, and resulting cells will be created and tested against current baseline cells. A full techno-economic model will be generated to provide a full cost model, and a pilot tool design will be generated and installation, validation, and optimization will be pursued in a follow on phase of this grant.
