Battery Power - November/December 2012 - (Page 12)

Feature Cleaner Manganese to Improve the Safety and Performance of Li-Ion Batteries Norman Chow, President Kemetco Research, Inc. The technology for lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries has been available since the 1970s but there hasn’t really been a true manifestation in the marketplace until about the last 10 years. Battery makers have struggled with maintaining a significant charge, ensuring consumer safety and reducing production costs to commercially acceptable levels. But all that is about to change. The market for Li-Ion batteries is going to explode over the next five to 10 years. Research from McKinsey Quarterly suggests that the price of Li-Ion batteries could plunge by 2020, to a more consumer friendly price point of $200 kWh (from the current $500 to $600 pricing) creating a space for the electric vehicle (including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicle) market to flourish. This type of growth will first be seen in China, where Lux Research expects Li-Ion battery market will nearly double to $9.2 billion in 2016. This significant growth in the marketplace is going to place pressure on Li-Ion battery producers to create a product that is less expensive, higher performance and increasingly safer for the consumer. All three of these challenges can be met with research into a cleaner, more efficient manganese dioxide product. In partnership with American Manganese, Inc., Kemetco Research, Inc. is working to produce improved manganese oxide material for use in rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. The research is supported by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) with completion of the project expected in 2013. future mass commercialization of these technologies. As the largest battery component, the manganese supplied needs to be without metallic impurities, or can potentially contribute to thermal runaway (the over-heating of Li-Ion battery materials leading to possible fire or explosion). Thermal runaway has been a significant problem for the lithium ion battery market, one that hasn’t necessarily been a widespread issue, but has generated a public perception of Li-Ion batteries being potentially harmful. For example, in 2006 Sony, Dell, Apple, Toshiba and IBM recalled millions of laptops due to media concerns over thermal runaway in their battery packs. This recall led to millions of dollars in loss for the companies involved. Thermal runaway continues to remain a significant hurdle for the industry today. This year, there have been recalls for Li-Ion batteries in Nikon DSLR cameras, Fisker Karma electric vehicles and HP laptops. The ongoing concern of thermal runaway requires battery manufacturers to test all lithium ion batteries for weeks to ensure safety. Metallic impurities, not to be confused with metal oxide or salt impurities, in the part per billion level are known to cause an unacceptable number of batteries to experience thermal run-away in rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. The tolerances for these impurities are so low that there are no current analytical methods to measure. As such, all Li-Ion battery manufacturers test every battery manufactured for a few weeks to reduce, but not eliminate the occurrence of thermal run-away of production batteries prior to sale. This increases the overall cost of Li-Ion batteries, as the electronic equipment and labor involved is significantly higher than just simple materials production. What then is the solution to reducing thermal runaway, and improving lithium ion safety, and thereby cost efficiency? We believe the production of a cleaner, chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) is the answer. The Need for a Cleaner Li-Ion Material Li-Ion batteries with cathode materials that contain manganese will have the opportunity to drive growth in the electric vehicle market. These batteries have an excellent combination of low raw materials cost, good cycle life and high specific power, which are of key importance for consideration in electric vehicles. Lithium manganese oxide batteries using LiMn2O4 chemistry are currently produced for commercial use in power tools and other consumer products. Step-wise improvements through the introduction of cleaner manganese materials will provide key advancement to the current Li-Ion battery technology for use in large format, high volume production suitable for electric vehicles. Improving known technology will drive nearer term growth. Disruptive Li-Ion battery technologies under development, such as the 0.7 Li2MnO3 ∙ 0.3 Li4Mn5O12 layered-layered cathode chemistry developed by Agonne National Laboratory has the opportunity to more than double the specific energy of Li-Ion batteries. Commercialization of this technology will be a game changer in providing significant boost in competitive economics and performance for large scale commercialization of electric vehicles in the future. Cleaner manganese will be of critical importance for Figure 1. Hydrometallurgical Pilot Plant for Recovery of Manganese from Resources Obtained from Artillery Peak, Ariz. 12 Battery Power • November/December 2012 www.BatteryPowerOnline.com http://www.BatteryPowerOnline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Battery Power - November/December 2012

Battery Power - November/December 2012
First ABB DC Fast Charger for Electric Vehicles in The US Installed and Operational in Wisconsin
Powering the Next Generation of Consumer Mobile Devices
Cleaner Manganese to Improve the Safety and Performance of Li-Ion Batteries
Ultrasonic Metal Welding Foils to Tabs for Li-Ion Battery Cells
Batteries
Charging & Testing
ICs & Semiconductors
Components
Power Supplies
Industry News
Marketplace
Calendar of Events

Battery Power - November/December 2012