Solvent-free battery electrodes

Abstract

A new solvent-free manufacturing process could make batteries more sustainable and cut manufacturing costs by 15% and energy use by 47% ( Joule 2023, DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2023.04.006 ). It could also be faster-charging than today’s electrodes. Manufacturers make electrodes by coating metal foils with a slurry of a solvent and battery materials. Then they recover the solvent and dry the electrodes. The energy-intensive process uses ovens the length of a football field. Alternatively, Yan Wang of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Heng Pan of Texas A&M University, and their colleagues spray a dry, powdery mix of electrode materials onto metal foils. An electric field at the sprayer’s tip applies a charge to the powder so it forms a uniform coating on the grounded metal substrate. The researchers then use pressure rollers to compact the material and form a dense electrode. Other researchers have developed a dry-coating process that involves extruding electrode materials into