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New Materials to Improve the
Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries in HEV and PHEV Applications--Lithium
Technology Corporation, 5115 Campus Drive, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1129; 610-940-6090; www.lithiumtech.com
Dr. Ron Turi,
Principal Investigator, rturi@lithiumtech.com
Dr. Andrew James Manning,
Business Official, ajmanning13@yahoo.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER84774
Amount: $99,998
Most
of the active materials now being used in advanced rechargeable batteries, such
as the family of lithium-ion systems, have been known for some time. Some
members of the technical community believe that new materials will be required
to meet the cycling profiles of advanced Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), while also meeting the goals for cost, calendar
life, and other properties. The goal of this project is to increase the
energy density of lithium ion batteries for PHEVs by
using novel anodes based on transition metal phosphide-active
materials. These phosphides
possess three to four times the specific capacity of carbon-based active
materials presently used in standard lithium ion batteries. At the same time, transition metal phosphides have high intrinsic rate capability, which makes
them ideal for power-leveling performance in both PHEV and HEV applications.
Commercial
Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: Practical
versions of the anodes would be expected to operate close to lithium potential
and utilize at least twice the specific capacity of carbon-based
electrodes. These anodes would operate
against traditional lithium ion cathodes such as LiCoO2.