Enhanced Structure for Solid State Li-ion Batteries

Eric Wachsman, a professor in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) – and his team have been featured in the ARPA-E Newsletter this month for their work on garnet-electrolyte battery chemistry.

As part of ARPA-E’s RANGE program, the University of Maryland (UMD) has built a tri-layer electrode-electrolyte featuring a porous structure for both the positive and negative electrodes, with a dense, thin-solid electrolyte sandwiched between them. The team also leveraged a new atomic layer deposition protective technique using a thin aluminum oxide coating.

These two innovations address the major challenges of garnet-electrolyte batteries and allow for fewer control systems. Research indicates that this solid-state system could compete with traditional Li-ion batteries with regards to weight, safety and cost. This highly Li-conductive electrolyte provides a rigid, self-supporting architecture with low internal resistance, and has the potential to overcome the energy density plateau of Li-ion battery chemistry.

For additional information on the project, please follow this link.

Published July 13, 2018