Start-Up Looks To Produce Better Cathodes

As the world moves towards renewable energy and electric vehicles, batteries are a vital part of that transition. However, China is responsible for the manufacture of the majority of batteries and battery parts around the globe. There are growing tensions between China and western nations, which has led to various sanctions and tariffs between the economic rivals. As such, more countries want protect their own economies by removing their reliance on China and sourcing materials and making batteries closer to home. Currently, just for cathode active materials, China has around 90% market share. Even without the ongoing global tensions, having such a large proportion of an industry in a single geographical area leaves the whole supply chain prone to black swan events, such as the floods in Thailand that halted production of only 30% of the world’s hard drives, causing a global shortage.

One company hoping to break China’s dominance in manufacturing active cathode materials is UK start-up Integrals Power. The company produces its materials in the UK and sources its raw materials from Europe and the US. It is developing a range of high-performance cathode active materials that will enable batteries to have better performance and become smaller, lighter, and more durable.

Integrals Power Founder and CEO, Behnam Hormozi, explains, “the cathode is the most critical part of the cell as it determines the battery’s overall performance, cost, and durability. We also source our raw materials from Europe and the US, so we can help cell suppliers to develop a more robust, transparent supply chain that mitigates geopolitical issues such as import tariffs and mining of critical elements such as cobalt.”

The company’s manufactures Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Lithium-Iron Manganese Phosphate cathode active materials in a way that differs from rivals in that they are developed at a molecular level using pure materials rather than starting from bulk precursors – which often contain impurities that impair the efficiency of the battery cell, and recycling at end-of-life. They are then manufactured using a unique process that can be readily scaled up to mass production.

Hormozi continues, “we use a bottom up approach, which allows us to have absolute control over the particle property synthesis. In the conventional solid-state approach used by other manufacturers, mechanical crushing happens between the materials at the particle level, which can have an adverse impact as the bonding between the particles is not strong. Our approach starts from the atom level. We pour raw materials into one vessel under controlled temperature and pressure in a way that allows us to have more control over the particle properties, which can directly have an impact on the performance of the battery.”

The result of this technique is a cathode that, for a given size, enables the cell to store up to 30% more energy, release it more quickly, and undergo more charging cycles with less reduction in capacity. And because fewer cells are needed, overall costs are reduced, and CO2 emissions from the complete battery supply chain can be cut by nearly 20%, making production more sustainable.

The company is continuing to develop and improve both its LFP and LFMP cathode active materials and will soon be able to produce larger batches for evaluation upon the completion of the pilot plant currently under construction.

Hormozi concludes, “The pilot line has the capacity to manufacture 20 tons per year. At the moment, the materials have been verified internally and samples of the LFP and LFMP cathode materials have been prepared for testing. XRD and SCM analysis shows almost 100% purity, indicating that the materials have been developed successfully. It also confirms that the pilot line is working as intended.”

https://integralspower.co.uk/