Eco Factor: New printing process leads to the development of longer lasting batteries for EVs.
Orlando-based startup Planar Energy, a spin-off of the NREL, has developed a new printing process of solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The process can be used to print solid-state batteries that offer three times more storage than liquid lithium-ion batteries of the same size.
Previous efforts to make printing processes to make thicker solid-state batteries have been subdued by the lack of printable solid electrolyte material. Planar Energy has now developed a roll-to-roll process for making larger lithium-ion batteries. The boost in energy storage capacity is primarily because the company’s batteries don’t require the support structure and materials that take up significant space in conventional batteries, offering more space for energy storage material.
The company also states that the process can be used to make batteries large enough to power electric vehicles. The entire process is driven by chemical-self assembly. As chemicals precursors stream onto the surface of a substrate, they react with one another to form a network of nanoparticles, creating both the electrolyte and the electrode.
Via: Technology Review
