SBIR-STTR Award

Electric vehicles are approaching price and range performance targets that make them competitive against petroleum-driven internal combustion engines. Cathodes represent the largest cost component of lithium-based automotive batteries (lithium-ion batteries) and are still the limiting electrode for overall energy content. In addition, state-of-the-art cathode materials in vehicle batteries, such as Li[Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2]O2 and Li[Ni0.85Co0.10Al0.05]O2, utilize significant amounts of cobalt (12% and 6% by weight, respectively), a metal of high supply risks and geopolitical/ethical concerns that can lead to surging costs of vehicle batteries. Furthermore, the US manufacturing base for cathode materials is limited, with most production occurring in East Asia including China, Japan, and South Korea. TexPower, Inc., in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin, aims at developing ultralow- and cobalt-free cathode materials produced in the US for lithium-ion batteries. These materials possess significant benefits including higher energy content, low cobalt reliance and affordable price compared to state-of-the-art cathode materials. TexPower?s technology was developed at the University of Texas at Austin through funding from the Department of Energy over the last five years at an academic setting. The requested SBIR/STTR funding will allow TexPower scale laboratory processes for industrial production and fabrication. In phase I, TexPower and the University of Texas at Austin will optimize oxygen usage during lithiation calcination of their cathode materials to balance performance and cost at large- scale production. Additionally, formation of surface residual lithium compounds will be minimized to facilitate electrode fabrication and enhance safety during battery operation. Also, packaging options will be explored for reliable and low-cost materials shipment. The effects of these processes will be validated in large-format commercially relevant pouch full cells paired with graphite anodes (from 200 mAh to above 1 Ah). Since most battery cathode materials are currently produced overseas, a strong supply chain in the US will be an enormous driver for the growth of our economy, considering the increasing vehicle electrification in upcoming decades. Funding of this proposal will facilitate TexPower in becoming a robust domestic cathode manufacturing firm. Further, maturing of TexPower?s cathode technology with significantly less dependence on cobalt will accelerate the electric vehicle propulsion that reduces air pollution imprint caused by conventional combustion engines.

The US economy relies on mobility, increasingly powered by lithium-ion batteries. State-of- the-art lithium-ion cathodes use significant amounts of cobalt, a vital component that can only be found in a few places on Earth. Nearly 65% of worldwide cobalt is mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where operations experience political violence and human rights violations. Due to cobalt’s poor geographical distribution, cobalt supply disruptions and price volatility have been a concern for many years; the booming EV market makes this problem a crisis, with shortages predicted by 2025 without changes in current cathode formulations. TexPower aims to commercialize the first cobalt-free, high-energy Li-ion battery cathodes that replace current cathodes Power-for-Powder without changes to other components, using only abundant metals, manufactured by standard processes. During Phase I, TexPower scaled synthesis of their zero-cobalt material from 10 g to 50 g per diem, and experimented with ways to improve the material performance. Additionally, TexPower explored ways to improve its cathode air stability, important for material handling and processing during the cell fabrication process.Different storage options were also surveyed which will aid in the shipping of material to customers. For Phase II, TexPower plans on scaling their synthesis to kilogram batches, which will be used to sample different potential customers. They will survey the composition, and a variety of treatments to improve energy density, cycle stability, power and safety. The University of Texas at Austin will lead an independent study on the thermal characteristics of the material at advanced states of charge, extremely important safety metrics. The material will be tested in large format cells prepared by the Battery Prototyping Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology in relevant sizes that can be compared to current commercial materials. Ultimately, this work will lead to the sampling of TexPower’s cobalt-free cathode material to potential customers. Since TexPower’s cathode materials can be exchanged with current cathode formulations, powder-for-powder, they have applications wherever portability is desired. The powder may be directly inserted into batteries of any form factor, prismatic, pouch or cylindrical. TexPower’s current cathode materials are formulated for electric vehicle applications, balancing energy, cycle stability, power and safety. Further formulations are planned for military applications which rely on stable supply chains, including drones and unmanned ground systems, Portable electronics applications are also possible candidates, such as for electric toothbrushes or shavers.