General Motors, US DOE collaborate on lithium-ion batteries



Argonne National Laboratory

Exiting News from the world of Energy Storage, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

General Motors (GM) and the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have signed a licensing agreement to use Argonne's patented composite cathode material to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries that last longer between charges and can charge at higher voltages.


Steven Chu

 

The cathode material licensed to GM is to be part of a diverse suite of lithium-ion battery inventions and patents developed at Argonne with DOE funding.

GM anticipates that use of the cathode material will yield advanced batteries that are high-performing, long-lasting and safe when compared to the existing technology.


US Energy secretary Steven Chu said that this agreement gives GM the ability to use cutting-edge battery technology throughout its supply chain.


GM's Mickey Bly

 GM executive director Micky Bly said that engineers and researchers at GM are working on next-generation battery systems that will reduce cost while providing improved performance, expanding the practicality and affordability of electric vehicles in the future.

According to the Chicago Tribune and reported by Ted Gregory:

It's nothing more than a piece of a battery that powers electric cars, but the technology developed at Argonne National Laboratory may be a turning point on the road to more efficient electric cars, experts say.

The reason: The material may enable them to travel twice as far as they do now before recharging by boosting the voltage of batteries, lightening their weight and extending their lives.

GM Volt

 It's a patented composite cathode material Argonne scientists have been refining since inventing it in 2001. About a year ago, General Motors and LG Chem Ltd., a Korean battery-maker with a subsidiary in Michigan, approached Argonne and started negotiating licensing agreements that were announced last week at a teleconference.

"""This is the beginning of what would be a transformation of our transportation system,""" Argonne director Eric Isaacs said. """And that's huge. … The dawn of a new era."""

The reason for the enthusiasm is what Argonne calls the """unique combination of lithium- and manganese-rich mixed-metal oxides""" in the cathode, which is where current flows.

Compared with materials in widespread use in batteries now, the new composite material is less expensive and can be contained in the smallest, lightest package.

By allowing batteries to be charged at higher voltages, it can increase energy storage — called energy density — by as much as 100 percent over conventional cathode material, Isaacs and others said.

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