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At the recent AABC in San Diego, Sila Nanotechnologies announced the conclusion of a supply agreement for its silicon-based
anode active material with Panasonic for future high-energy EV battery cells. Recently, Panasonic signed a similar deal with Nexeon.
Both active materials will be supplied from US manufacturing plants.
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This development confirms that a pathway to liquid carbonate-containing Li-ion battery EV cells with 1,000 Wh/L (probably around
360 kWh/kg) has been validated, approximately on par with Prologium's semi-solid / Si-based anode
Li-ion battery cell roadmap.
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There is a difference regarding Si-based material cost projections between Sila Nanotechnologies ('competitive with graphite on
a pack $/kWh-basis by 2029', which probably converts to about 6 $/kWh), while ProLogium claimed in its talk that it will use an
Si-based active material that costs 2 $/kWh ($20/kg material cost). In 2021, OneD Battery Sciences projected 1.7 $/kWh for its
Si-based active material upon up-scaling.
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The talk and IP portfolio by E-magy suggest that they should be able to go below cost levels mentioned above for their Si-based
active materials (performance in EV cells to be validated), while Tesla stated back in 2020 a 1.2 $/kWh target for its internal
Si active material development.
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To de-risk their CAPEX investments, Si-based anode material producers should develop at least two grades with significantly different
BET specific surface area, at significantly different price points, suitable for interfacing with at least two different classes of
Li-ion battery electrolytes (such as liquid carbonate & semi-solid electrolytes, or semi-solid and all-solid-state electrolytes).
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This post was also published on LinkedIn.
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Following up on yesterday's post, ADVANO, ALKEGEN, Ionic Mineral Technologies, NanoGraf Corporation and Paraclete Energy each are
pursuing next generation Si-based anode materials that should allow for further reduced costs (<2 $/kWh).
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As energy density grows and costs drop, the importance of collaborations between active material and electrolyte / cell makers will grow,
because the achievement of sufficient performance may depend on relatively minor electrolyte variations, such as the particle size distribution
of solid electrolyte components (e.g. oxides) or electrolyte polymer molecular weight in conjunction with Si morphology, surface characteristics, etc.
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While all-solid-state and liquid carbonate electrolyte cell developers are quite well known, our IP analysis reveals how a whole range of
commercially relevant players made semi-solid electrolyte-related patent filings alongside Prologium: Blue Solutions,
Factorial Energy, Foxconn / SolidEdge Solution, General Motors, Hydro Québec, LG Chem, QuantumScape, SES AI, TeraWatt Technology,
Toshiba, WeLion (in combination with Li metal, Si-based, graphite or LTO negative electrodes).
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This post was also published on LinkedIn.
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