Are high-purity cathode materials truly necessary? An alternative to reduce secondary battery costs

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 trade secretswith 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 price of batteries.

A analysis workforce 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 may considerably cut back the unit price of batteries. The analysis findings are published in Nature Communications.

On this analysis, the workforce delved into the impression of lithium uncooked materials purity on the manufacturing and efficiency of secondary battery cathode materials. Conventionally, it is assumed that impurities in lithium supplies hamper secondary battery efficiency. Subsequently, the objective is to fabricate lithium supplies with purity of at the very least 99.5%.

Nonetheless, the workforce 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. Via their experiments, they demonstrated that using low-purity lithium, not solely rid of impuritiesmay cut back secondary battery manufacturing prices and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 19.4% and 9.0%, respectively.

The researchers have 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 workforce of Dr. Woochul Jung from the Analysis Institute of Industrial Science and Expertise (RIST).

Professor Kim said, “Secondary battery cell manufacturers need to reassess whether their current cathode material specifications are too stringent. Considering unconventional approaches could offer a fresh strategy against China’s aggressively low prices.”