Holistic Design for Manufacturing and Recycling of High Energy Density Li-ion Battery Cells
This Future Manufacturing (FM) grant will support fundamental research to discover and develop future manufacturing concepts that enable fabrication of reliable, energy dense, and easily recyclable next generation Li-ion batteries. The novel manufacturing approach will enable battery fabrication in smaller steps and provide highly efficient thermal management, while improving electrochemical performance, lifecycle sustainability, and recyclability. The manufacturing processes will result in both reduced waste and lower energy input compared to the current state-of-the-art. The research will reduce the dependency of the United States on imported critical materials, support a circular economy through simplified battery manufacturing and recycling processes, and in doing so also reduce the cost of Li-ion batteries
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Thrust One
We will design and develop advanced electrode and electrolyte manufacturing and assembly techniques for cathode-electrolyte-anode stacks.
Thrust Two
The team will use the understandings developed in the Thrust 1 to develop electrochemical as well as a novel inside-out cell recycling concepts.
Thrust Three
The team will focus on cell design, exploiting the novel thermal and electrical properties of the electrodeposited electrodes and electrolytes, as well as the novel cell and pack designs afforded by the new LIB manufacturing technique, to form high performance cells compatible with recycling.
Thrust Four
The team will perform extensive lifecycle analysis and reliability-based optimization, to enhance sustainability performances of the proposed LIB solutions and demonstrate its significant superiority over existing battery manufacturing technologies. Running through these thrusts is a holistic co-design strategy that integrates aspects of manufacturing, performance, recycling, and lifecycle analysis.
Broader Impacts
Our planned activities will broadly advance a critical area of future domestic manufacturing and enhance workforce development. Energy storage is one of the most important growth industries of the 21st century, and it is critical the nation has the technology and capability for fully integrated domestic battery manufacturing.
This will best be enabled by creating a circular economy for batteries, which holistically combines both battery production and battery recycling. The team plans to lead four major workforce development activities including focused community outreach, K-12, undergraduate, and graduate programs and will partner with
existing activities to broaden the scope and impact where appropriate, with emphasis on promoting data sharing, attracting students to engineering careers, and broadening participation of women and underrepresented groups.
Researchers
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