New composite material could increase Li-ion battery life by 70%

In technical terms, ChemSEI-Linker is an artificial nanoscale solid electrolyte interface of unique composition and structure that stabilises lithium battery electrodes.

ChemSEI-Linker covers lithium battery electrodes and protects them from a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer that forms on electrodes during the discharge/charge process.

It modifies the destructive SEI layer on electrodes and eliminates battery degradation.

Since the intrinsic structure of the active electrode material is undamaged, a manufacturer can extract the material and reuse it directly.

Conventional electrodes, when recycled, must be turned into lithium carbonate and various metals by intermediate physical and metallurgical recycling processes.

ChemSEI-Linker eliminates this need for regeneration of electrode material and streamlines recycling operations and reduces costs.

ChemSEI-Linker also improves battery safety, as batteries equipped with ChemSEI-Linker pass nail-penetration tests.

According to ITRI researchers, in an electric vehicle application such as the Tesla Model S, the use of ChemSEI-Linker could increase its range by 15% and extend the number of charge-discharge cycles by 70%.

It would also reduce battery cost, which is currently more than 40% of the overall vehicle cost, by decreasing the number of required batteries.

Dr. Jing-Pin Pan, CTO, ITRI’s material and chemical research laboratories, said: “The current technology for large-scale lithium-ion battery production lacks adequate technical maturity, and is too expensive. Thus, numerous factories produce batteries with limited functionality, small capacity, and insufficient endurance. ITRI developed ChemSEI-Linker to address environmental concerns and improve the performance, recyclability, and safety of lithium batteries.”