Simplifying electrode design for lithium-ion rechargeable cells

Abstract

In the race to increase lithium-ion cell manufacturing, labor and energy costs quickly ascend to become chief concerns for building new facilities, as conventional electrode designs need significant resources during fabrication. Complicating this issue is an empirical trade-off between environmental friendliness and ethical sourcing. To circumvent this paradox, modified cell designs that employ foils and textiles can significantly change manufacturing considerations if their simple construction can be matched with competitive performance. In this work, we demonstrate one possible cell design for a lithium-ion device that utilizes a fabric and a foil for the cathode and the anode, respectively. For the anode, a prelithiated aluminum foil is chosen, as the room-temperature solubility range of the LiAl phase is well-suited to uptake and release lithium, all while reducing energy or cost-intensive production steps. The cathode is composed of activated carbon fiber textiles, which offer a scalable path to realize sustainability. With such benefits, this device design can potentially change the calculus for the mass production of energy storage devices.