I-Corps: Composite Materials Enabling Batteries with High Energy Density

I-Corps：复合材料使电池具有高能量密度

• 批准号: 1840213
• 负责人: Lorenzo Mangolini
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-07-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1840213&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Composite; Materials; Enabling; Batteries

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is in the identification of the most effective strategy for the deployment of novel and improved materials for lithium-ion batteries. Our society is already experiencing the pressing need for better electrochemical energy storage technologies. These would be beneficial not only for consumer electronics devices and electric vehicles, but would also aid the transition towards renewable energy sources, bringing enormous benefits in terms of public health and reduced environmental hazards. The successful commercialization of more energy dense lithium-ion batteries represents a crucial and fundamental requirement for this vision to be realized. Unfortunately the graphite-based battery anode, while being the most widely utilized technology, is already approaching its theoretical limit. The technology at the center of this proposal overcomes the limitations of graphite while enabling a straightforward integration in the current battery production scheme. Participation in the I-Corps program will allow establishing the most effective pathway towards the commercialization of this new technology. This I-Corps project is based on a novel material that increase the storage capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries by roughly 30%. The compound, a silicon-graphite composite powder, displays a storage capacity six times higher (1800 mA g-1) than graphite (365 mA g-1), the current anode material of choice in commercial lithium ion batteries, and is produced with an innovative proprietary fabrication method suitable for large-scale production. The composite can be used as an additive to commercial lithium-ion batteries to partially or completely substitute graphite and boost the battery performance in terms of both gravimetric and volumetric energy density. Notably, the compound it is fully compatible with the current lithium-ion battery industrial production processes, allowing for a cost-effective introduction into the manufacturing process without additional capital investments. To enable the breakthrough of this concept into the market, the current efforts are focused on the customer discovery process through the I-Corps program with the goal of identifying an ideal first customer segment.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.

该I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是确定用于部署锂离子电池新颖和改进材料的最有效策略。我们的社会已经在迫切需要更好的电化学能源存储技术。这些不仅对消费电子设备和电动汽车都有益，而且还将有助于向可再生能源过渡，从而在公共卫生方面带来巨大的好处，并减少了环境危害。更多能量密集的锂离子电池的成功商业化代表了实现这一愿景的关键和基本要求。不幸的是，基于石墨的电池阳极虽然是使用最广泛的技术，但已经接近其理论限制。该提案中心的技术克服了石墨的局限性，同时可以在当前的电池生产方案中直接集成。参加I-Corps计划将允许建立最有效的这项新技术商业化途径。 该I-Corps项目基于一种新型材料，该材料将商业锂离子电池的存储容量提高了约30％。该化合物是一种硅石材复合粉末，显示出储能容量（1800 mA G-1）是石墨（365 mA G-1），即商业锂离子电池中首选的当前阳极材料，并使用适用于大型生产的创新专有制造方法生产。该复合材料可以用作商业锂离子电池的添加剂，以部分或完全替代石墨，并以重量和体积能量密度来提高电池性能。值得注意的是，它与当前的锂离子电池工业生产过程完全兼容的化合物，可以在没有额外的资本投资的情况下对制造过程进行具有成本效益的引入。为了使这个概念的突破进入市场，当前的努力集中在通过I-Corps计划的客户发现过程上，以确定理想的第一个客户细分市场。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来支持的。