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MATERIAL AND SLURRY DEVELOPMENT

FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
D r. Ma rc o F r its ch , D r. N i k o l a i Tro fi me n k o, D r. C hri s ti an Bretthauer

Electrical energy storage systems are a fundamental compo-

the slurry recipe as well as the slurry preparation technology

nent for a sustainable energy supply of the future. The Li-ion

have to be individually adapted to the raw material powder.

battery technology plays a central role in research and devel-

For this research, well-known characterization methods from

opment to realize the projected goals in energy policy, for ex-

ceramic technologies are applied as well as new methods are

ample, decentralized energy storage and electromobility.

developed and standardized to evaluate the electric sheet re-

Aspects of safety, durability and costs of battery cells have to

sistivity, adhesion of the coating to the metal collector, and

be investigated. At Fraunhofer IKTS, functional powders are

volume porosity of the electrode.

processed to thin electrode foils for battery cells using material-scientific methods and state-of-the-art manufacturing

Due to the integration of carbon black in the electrode com-

solutions. Ceramic technologies play a crucial role for the

posite, the electric sheet resistivity of LiFePO4 cathodes is in-

synthesis and dispersion of powders, preparation of casting

creased by several orders in magnitude as compared to the

slurries and coating of the electrodes in a continuous tape

raw material powder. In this way, the power density of such

casting process. In cooperation with industry partners the en-

electrodes is significantly improved.

tire process chain of modern battery cell manufacturing is

demonstrated at Fraunhofer IKTS. Complex correlations between raw material selection, process technology and result-

Electrode casting slurries for Li-ion batteries

ing battery properties are studied as well as the upscaling of

the production process.
Li-ion batteries for stationary and mobile systems differ in the
required energy and power density. For these electrode concepts different active materials are used. To reach high energy
densities new lithium nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and
lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) materials are synthesized at Fraunhofer IKTS. Simultaneously, the production
costs will be reduced and the environmental compatibility will
be increased due to a reduction of the heavy metal content.
New materials of global market leaders, e.g. based on LiFePO4,
are characterized as well, and specified in terms of processing
and performance properties. Due to variable powder properties like morphology, electrical conductivity and particle sizes,
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Fraunhofer IKTS Annual Report 2012/13

10 m

Electrical conductivity of LiFePO4 cathodes in comparison with raw material powder

1 m

porosity of the anode after calendering, residual water content

and scaling of the slurry batch is evaluated by anode capacity,
cell formation and cycle life.
With rising market share of such energy storage devices, questions arise concerning the cost effectiveness and environmental friendly electrode manufacturing as well as the recycling of
battery components. Electrode-water based slurry systems
have already established in industry for anodes, but N-methyl2-pyrrolidone (NMP), which is classified as toxic, is still used for
cathode electrodes. Therefore, water-based cathode slurries
with various organic carriers are investigated at Fraunhofer
IKTS.

The design of the graphite based anodes depends on the indi-

Furthermore, it is the aim to reduce energy consumption in

vidual battery concept. The necessary cell balancing between

the electrode drying step resulting in reduced production

cathode and anode is possible due to an adjustment of pa-

costs. Associated questions concerning the resulting electrode

rameters like anode thickness and density. Previous results

quality, stability of the cathode oxide materials and the elec-

demonstrate that for the variety of commercial available

trode performance are currently under examination.

graphite powders, which differ in synthesis and particle morphology, the processing has to be adapted to the individual
raw material. The influence of various mixing technologies,
Area capacity of various cathode foils

Services offered
- Recipe formulation of slurries for Li-ion batteries
- Casting technologies for electrode foils
- Evaluation of the processability and performance of active
materials
- Microscopic, electrochemical and mechanical characterization
of thin electrodes
- Laboratory-scale production and up-scaling for pilot-plant
solutions

1 Slurry development.
2 Coating of the electrode.
3 Graphite anode.
4 Lithium-iron-phosphate
cathode.
Contact Marco Fritsch Phone +49 351 2553-7869 marco.fritsch@ikts.fraunhofer.de

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