SiliconX: Unique silicon material for next generation high capacity Li-ion batteries

Fossil fuels still power 99% of the cars on the road and 86% of the world?s energy grids today. One of the biggest bottlenecks to transitioning away from these polluting fuels to cleaner energy sources is today?s limited energy storage technology. Lithium-ion batteries are promising energy storage solutions, but current technology cannot meet the world's immense energy storage demand. The key to improving Li-ion technology is to increase a battery's capacity to store more energy. Silicon is recognized by top researchers as the most promising material for increasing this energy capacity due to its unique structure. When added to a battery's anode, silicon can give 10 times higher energy capacity compared to today's solutions. However, the challenge with silicon is its stability. Every time a silicon-based battery charges and discharges the material shrinks and swells dramatically, like inflating and deflating a balloon, causing the silicon particles to crack. For this reason, silicon materials have not been stable enough for full use in today's battery technology. Researchers at IFE have found a solution to the stability issues by creating a new, unique silicon-based anode material (SiliconX). This material demonstrates an unparalleled combination of high capacity and stability. The SiliconX material can increase a battery's anode capacity by a factor of 3-5 compared to today's carbon anode, while remaining stable for hundreds of charge-discharge cycles. The major goal of this project was to demonstrate the potential of this unique material with industrial partners to generate direct commercial interest. Initial findings from the testing of IFE's silicon-based anode material has attracted interest from top global battery manufacturers as well as producers of electrical vehicles and consumer electronics. SiliconX therefore has the potential to enable better electric vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics, and could open new industrial applications such as Li-ion-based grid storage for renewable sources.

Prosjektet har gitt økt kompetanse om egenskapene til silisiumbaserte anodematerialer, produksjon og bruken av disse samt lagt til rette for videre kommersialisering.