SBIR-STTR Award

Xerion Advanced Battery Corp (XABC) proposes Advanced Battery Manufacturing Techniques for High Performance, Low Cost Lithium Ion Batteries. XABC has developed a 3D battery electrode called StructurePore that allows for rapid ion and electron transport, enabling 5 minute charge times at 280Wh/kg on a positive + negative electrode basis. StructurePore batteries utilize a novel manufacturing method, electroplating, which typically is not used in battery manufacturing. Electroplating allows usage of material precursors that are inherently cheaper than refined ceramic powders. These precursors may be cheaper (10-30%) or significantly cheaper (1x-5x) depending on purity. A 53% reduction in raw material cost has been shown to reduce total cost ($/kWh) by 30% at large volume. Furthermore, electroplating reduces process complexity; resulting in decreased reliance on milling and sintering, thus further reducing costs. Due to their ability to handle high power, StructurePore batteries have inherently low internal resistance, which decreases thermal buildup and stress under normal and even extreme conditions. A 3D conductive current collector, built into all StructurePore batteries, helps to dissipate heat without the need for heat sinks or extensive modification. All of this results in a product that is inherently safer than a traditional 2D lithium ion battery.

In Phase I, XABC scaled the capability to produce nanostructured LCO cathodes using an electroplating process.In this phase II proposal, XABC proposes to further demonstrate this unique manufacturing capability to produce full cell batteries with enhanced performance and reduced cost in DLA products, as a precursor to XABC becoming a domestic manufacturer of electrochemical cells.This Phase II program proposed herein has three overarching goals: 1) To demonstrate the feasibility of significantly reducing the costs of production cells used as drop-in replacement for battery packs currently in the DLA inventory, 2) To demonstrate the feasibility of enhancing the power to energy ratio of production cells used as drop-in replacements in battery packs in the DLA inventory, and 3) utilize XABC high energy cells to produce and deliver, in conjunction with Inventus Power, a prototype conformable wearable battery (CWB). The prototype is expected toincreases the volumetric energy density of existing CWB by 55% without changing the functionality or the dimensions of the pack.