Producers of secondary battery cells (LG Vitality Answer, Samsung SDI, and SK) have been insisting on very stringent purity specs from suppliers of cathode supplies to make sure a constant high quality output.
The purity specs for cathode supplies have been carefully guarded as commerce secrets and techniques, with little energetic scrutiny on the need of such excessive specs. In response to the calls for of cell producers, suppliers of cathode supplies have been investing considerably in purifying uncooked metals, consequently elevating the unit value of batteries.
A analysis group has found that the purity specs for cathode supplies, as set by cell producers, are overly stringent.
Their analysis demonstrates that streamlining the lithium refining course of might considerably scale back the unit value of batteries. The analysis findings are revealed in Nature Communications.
On this analysis, the group delved into the influence of lithium uncooked materials purity on the manufacturing and efficiency of secondary battery cathode supplies. Conventionally, it is assumed that impurities in lithium supplies hamper secondary battery efficiency. Subsequently, the objective is to fabricate lithium supplies with purity of no less than 99.5%.
However, the group uncovered that the presence of roughly 1% magnesium (Mg) impurity within the lithium uncooked materials truly enhances course of effectivity and prolongs the secondary battery’s lifespan. By way of their experiments, they demonstrated that using low-purity lithium, not fully rid of impurities, might scale back secondary battery manufacturing prices and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 19.4% and 9.0%, respectively.
The researchers had been led by Professor Yong-Tae Kim from the Division of Supplies Science and Engineering at Pohang College of Science and Expertise (POSTECH), in collaboration with Professor Kyu-Younger Park from the Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Eco Supplies Expertise and the Division of Supplies Science and Engineering at POSTECH, and the analysis group of Dr. Woochul Jung from the Analysis Institute of Industrial Science and Expertise (RIST).
Professor Kim acknowledged, “Secondary battery cell producers must reassess whether or not their present cathode materials specs are too stringent. Contemplating unconventional approaches might supply a recent technique in opposition to China’s aggressively low costs.”
