Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2023 - BET-27

24M hopes to enable could have a dramatic
impact on battery adoption across
society - from the cost and performance
of electric cars to the ability of renewable
energy to replace fossil fuels.
The main components of batteries are
the positive and negatively charged electrodes
and the electrolyte material that
allows ions to flow between them.
Traditional Li-ion batteries use solid
electrodes separated from the electrolyte
by layers of inert plastics and metals,
which hold the electrodes in place.
Stripping away the inert materials of
traditional batteries and embracing the
gooey electrode mix gives 24M's design a
number of advantages. For one, it eliminates
the energy-intensive process of drying
and solidifying the electrodes in traditional
Li-ion production. According to the
company, it also reduces the need for more
than 80 percent of the inactive materials
in traditional batteries, including expensive
ones like copper and aluminum. The
design also requires no binder and features
extra thick electrodes, improving the
energy density of the batteries.
" This is a platform technology, " Ota
said. " We're not just a low-cost and
high-reliability operator. That's what we
are today, but we can also be competitive
with next-generation chemistry. We
can use any chemistry in the market
without customers changing their supply
chains. Other startups are trying to
address that issue tomorrow, not today.
The MIT spinout 24M Technologies uses fewer materials to make its batteries than conventional
Li-ion cells. (Image: Courtesy of 24M Technology, edited by MIT News)
Our tech can address the issue today
and tomorrow. "
Judging by industry interest, 24M is
onto something. Since coming out of
stealth mode in 2015, 24M has licensed
its technology to multinational companies
including Volkswagen, Fujifilm, Lucas
TVS, Axxiva, and Freyr. Those last three
companies are planning to build gigafactories
(factories with gigawatt-scale annual
production capacity) based on 24M's
technology in India, China, Norway, and
the United States.
For more information, contact Abby
Abazorius at abbya@mit.edu; 617253-2709.
New
Hybrid Electrolyte for High-Performance
Lithium-ion Batteries
This polymeric solid electrolyte not only shows high performance as an electrolyte but is also expected to
be effective in deterring the formation of dendritic crystals.
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
L
ithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are one
of the most used batteries that support
modern ITC society, including
smartphones and EVs. These batteries are
repeatedly charged and discharged by
Li-ions passing back and forth between
the positive and negative electrodes,
with the Li-ion electrolyte acting as a
passageway for the ions.
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
Normally, organic electrolytes such as
liquid ethylene carbonate (EC) and their
gels have been used as the Li-ion electrolyte
due to their voltage resistance
and ionic conductivity. However, as liquids
and gels are flammable, a switch to safer
polymeric solid electrolytes is preferable.
Polymeric solid electrolytes such as
(PEG) have been
polyethylene glycol
proposed as impact-resistant Li-ion
electrolytes. However, PEG-based polymer
electrolytes crystallize near room
temperature, resulting in a significant
drop in Li-ion conductivity to around
10-6 S/cm at room temperature.
To solve this problem, a research
group has invented a new type of polymeric
solid electrolyte by combining a
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Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2023

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