Future Materials Battery Lab

The battery lab’s overarching priority is to study how Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries with various chemical compositions behave under different conditions. 

A Li-ion battery consists of two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, an electrolyte and a separator separating the electrodes from each other. Li-ion batteries are a rechargeable type of battery where Li-ions move from the negative electrode (the anode) towards the positive electrode (the cathode) when discharging and the opposite direction during charging. The Li-ions move in an electrolyte where the main component is a Li-rich salt.

The battery lab can test different kind of battery cells; like small coin cells, a bit larger pouch cells and in the future cylindrical cells. The cells are placed in a battery testing device where the cells´ “battery capacity”, mAh/g, is measured. The maximum number of cycles or how long a cell withstands charging and discharging while maintaining storage capacity, is also measured.

Available equipment

  • Milling and mixer equipment
    • Shaper mills
    • Dry and wet mixers (for composite materials)
    • Jet mills
    • Planetary ball mills
  • Coating machine (Electrode Coating)
  • Roll Press Machine (calendering)
  • Vacuum Drying oven
  • Disc cutter (Electrode Punching)
  • Glove box
  • Electrolyte injection
  • Sealing Machine (Hydraulic sealing)
  • Battery Tester (Battery Analyzer)

Examples of services

  • Battery materials testing
  • Electrode formulation and coating
    • Slurry viscosity
    • Wettability
    • Orientation
  • Battery Cell testing
    • Capacity, first cycle efficiency, rate capability, cycling
    • Half coin cells
    • Full coin cells
    • Pouch cells
    • 3 electrode cells
  • Materials properties
    • Tap density
    • Expansion (dilatometer, swell testing of silicon anodes)

Elkem also has extensive, complementary characterisation capabilities such as XRD, XRF, FEG-SEM, Particle size and shape, BET, AAS, ICP-MS. The battery lab is located close to Elkem Pilot Plant, an industrial R&D center with core competence in metallurgical high-temperature processes. The combination of a Battery Lab, Pilot Plant facilities and characterisation capabilities makes Elkem Technology/Future Materials well equipped for lab. scale, bench scale and pilot scale experiments. 

 

Battery Solutions