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New process holds promise for Li-ion battery performance
The steadily growing Li-ion
battery market continues its quest
for increased battery capacity
while maintaining a long recharg-
ing process. Structuring materials
for electrodes at the nanometer
length scale is an effective way
to meet this demand; however,
such nanomaterials need to be
produced by high-throughput pro-
cessing to transfer these technolo-
gies to industry.
A new approach by researchers
at the National Institute for Mate-
rials Science, Japan, shows poten-
tial for producing nanosized,
composite silicon-based powders
for the negative electrodes within
high-density Li-ion batteries. Re-
searchers successfully produced nanocomposite SiO powders by plasma spray physical
vapor deposition using low-cost metallurgical grade powders at high throughput. Using
this method, they demonstrated a noticeable improvement in battery capacity cycle per-
formance.
Joining forces to protect Chicago’s electric grid
ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corp., Chicago, will develop a deploy-
ment plan for American Superconductor’s (AMSC), Devens,
Mass., high-temperature superconductor technology to build a
system to strengthen Chicago’s electric grid. The resilient electric
grid (REG) effort is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Se-
curity (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s work to secure
the nation’s electric power grids and improve resiliency against ex-
treme weather, acts of terrorism, or other catastrophic events.
The REG is a self-healing system that provides resiliency in
the event of any grid loss. Installation would be the first commer-
cial application of this advanced technology in the U.S. “We be-
lieve that this system has the potential to play a significant role in
protecting the infrastructure assets so vital to our electrical sys-
tems. Together with the leadership from DHS and ComEd, we
believe AMSC is now in a position to offer this system solution
to cities in America and around the world,” says AMSC president
and CEO Daniel P. McGahn. , .
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • OCTOBER 2014 14
ENERGY TRENDS
briefs
The U.S. Department of Energy
selected a University of Alabama
startup company for a $1.5 million
award to refine an alternative
material to extract uranium from
the ocean. The company is
developing an adsorbent,
biodegradable material made from
chitin, a compound found in
shrimp shells, other crustaceans,
and insects. Researchers
developed transparent sheets, or
mats, comprised of tiny chitin
fibers, modified for the task. When
suspended beneath the ocean’s
surface, the mats are designed to
withdraw uranium. “Once you put
it in the ocean, it will attract
uranium like a magnet, and
uranium will stick to it,” says one
researcher. .
Alphabet Energy, Hayward, Calif.,
plans to sell a new type of material
that can turn heat into electricity.
Unlike previous thermoelectrics,
the new material is plentiful,
inexpensive, and nontoxic. The
company is using tetrahedrite—an
abundant, naturally occurring
mineral that is also more efficient
on average than existing
thermoelectric materials.
According to data released by
Alphabet Energy, tetrahedrite costs
about $4 per kg, whereas other
thermoelectric materials cost
between $24 and $146 per kg. The
company is focusing on standalone
generators but is also working with
automotive companies to see if
tetrahedrite can harness heat from
car exhaust. .
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy
images of the PS-PVD Si core and SiOx shell
composites processed (a) without and (b) with a
1.1 slm methane (CH4 ) gas addition.
The resilient electric
grid is a self-healing
technology that
quickly recovers in the
event that portions of
Chicago’s energy grid
are lost for any reason.
In a small lab at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a team of scientists from the Stanford
Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES), Calif., is making and testing new types of lithium-
ion batteries. Their goal: Create a battery five times better than ones used today. SLAC lab director Yi Cui
believes one key to creating a better battery is making the cathode of sulfur, instead of lithium-cobalt oxide.
The team devised a yolk-shell design in which individual “nanonuggets” of sulfur are enclosed within a
semi-porous shell that allows lithium ions to pass through but blocks the electrolyte. Making the shell
somewhat larger than the nanoparticle allows the sulfur to swell and contract as it absorbs and releases
lithium during charge/discharge cycles without dissolving. .
Zhi Wei Seh assembles a prototype battery in
SLAC’s energy storage laboratory. Courtesy of SLAC.