SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to use self-assembling nanoparticle systems made from renewable, bio-based materials to replace manufacturing processes that conventionally rely on high-energy reaction conditions and petroleum-based chemicals. This innovation will enhance technical understanding of the property-performance relationship between chemistry formulations, nanoparticle morphology, and product performance. This project will enable US manufacturers to reduce their production and disposal of toxic waste and utilize locally produced feedstocks and inputs in manufacturing process that are lower in carbon intensity, and will also create new markets for US produced feedstocks and materials. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to optimize a green nanoparticle-forming solvent system that self-assamble to function as "microreactor" vessels that can produce cathode materials which are used in rechargeable battery systems for the growing energy storage market. Solution-based synthesis methods have been used to prepare different cathode materials, but control over product structure and quality requires detailed understanding of the solution chemistry, which can be obscured by downstream variables that are introduced during electrode formation. This screening process will be streamlined by characterizing and quantifying the properties of intermediates produced in order to determine optimal chemistry formulation, particle size, and calcination conditions for battery performance. The approach will use rapid characterization methods that require only microscale quantities of material in order to develop a sensitivity matrix that relates the impact of renewable composition inputs and reaction variables on cathode material size and morphology, allowing prediction of overall battery performance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be in lowering the overall cost of lithium-ion batteries. Material cost reduction drives greater adoption of technologies using batteries such as electric vehicles and storage systems while increasing the use of renewables. Cathode material is a battery's largest cost contributor, and with the market growing 10+% year-over-year, producers are having to spend millions of dollars in plant expansions to meet this increased demand. Technology solutions that allow cathode material producers to cost effectively expand current production capacity without investment or sacrificing quality or performance are immediately needed in this industry. Current industry processes require lengthy high-temperature production steps that consume large amounts of energy throughout the production process. This phase II project is focused on developing a "one-pot" manufacturing process that will address the current market priorities of lowering production costs, shortening manufacturing times, increasing production yield and using sustainable materials, allowing cathode producers to significantly increase profit margins while addressing demand for increased production. More broadly, lower battery costs will increase the adoption of technologies that utilize lithium-ion batteries and enable greater implementation of other renewable energy sources like wind and solar. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to build upon the promising feasibility results achieved in Phase I to develop a breakthrough, sustainable, "one-pot" process for the manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. This manufacturing process will capitalize on the opportunity within the cathode production to address its needs for lowering production costs, increasing production capacity, and reducing energy consumption. The Phase II project will involve (i) the optimization of the manufacturing process, as measured by half-cell battery performance screening, (ii) demonstrate doubling throughput and providing cost savings of at least 20% over current production processes for NMC 622, (iii) demonstrate battery performance that is equivalent to, or better than, that of a commercial benchmark in full cell testing, and (iv) design and construction of a pilot reactor. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.