
NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | June 15, 2018 |
Latest Amendment Date: | September 16, 2018 |
Award Number: | 1819697 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Anna Brady-Estevez
TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
Start Date: | June 15, 2018 |
End Date: | September 30, 2019 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $224,063.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $224,063.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
950 MARINA VILLAGE PKWY STE 102B ALAMEDA CA US 94501-1047 (415)662-3835 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
Building 67, 1 Cyclotron Road Berkeley CA US 94720-8099 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | SBIR Phase I |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to use self-assembling nanoparticle systems made from renewable, bio-based materials to replace manufacturing processes that conventionally rely on high-energy reaction conditions and petroleum-based chemicals. This innovation will enhance technical understanding of the property-performance relationship between chemistry formulations, nanoparticle morphology, and product performance. This project will enable US manufacturers to reduce their production and disposal of toxic waste and utilize locally produced feedstocks and inputs in manufacturing process that are lower in carbon intensity, and will also create new markets for US produced feedstocks and materials.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to optimize a green nanoparticle-forming solvent system that self-assamble to function as "microreactor" vessels that can produce cathode materials which are used in rechargeable battery systems for the growing energy storage market. Solution-based synthesis methods have been used to prepare different cathode materials, but control over product structure and quality requires detailed understanding of the solution chemistry, which can be obscured by downstream variables that are introduced during electrode formation. This screening process will be streamlined by characterizing and quantifying the properties of intermediates produced in order to determine optimal chemistry formulation, particle size, and calcination conditions for battery performance. The approach will use rapid characterization methods that require only microscale quantities of material in order to develop a sensitivity matrix that relates the impact of renewable composition inputs and reaction variables on cathode material size and morphology, allowing prediction of overall battery performance.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Sylvatex Phase I project, "Development of Renewable Nanoparticle Platform for Green Energy Production and Storage Applications", successfully leveraged National Science Foundation funds to accomplish the following key outcomes based on the main goals of the project:
- Determined the optimal Microblend composition for the synthesis of cathode materials
- Demonstrated consistency and control of production of cathode materials
- Validated the performance of Sylvatex produced cathode materials using half-cell testing
- Developed a conceptual process design for the production of cathode materials using Sylvatex MicroX
Intellectual Merit
Sylvatex's Micelle Nanoparticle Synthesis Platform is a green chemistry technology that generates a micelle-based microemulsion under ambient conditions. These micelles act as extremely efficient microreactors in which lithium-ion cathode materials are formed and precipitated. Utilizing this technology platform Sylvatex has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of producing lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) and lithium nickel-rich oxide (LiNixMnyCozO2, NMC) cathode materials. Sylvatex successfully obtained, through laboratory-scale production process, well-crystalized cathode materials structure and demonstrated electrochemical performance in half-cells similar to that of an industry grade benchmark under the same testing conditions. Furthermore, Sylvatex demonstrated a synthesis route using its green chemistry technology for the production of NMC 811, an industry high-interest next generation cathode material.
Broader Impacts
With the cathode materials market growing over 10% year-over-year, producers have had to massively invest in order to de-bottleneck existing plants and build new ones in order to bring new capacities on-line to meet this increased demand. There is a tremendous need to produce cathode materials at a much lower cost without sacrificing quality or performance. Currently, conventional cathode material producers use the lengthy and extremely energy intensive co-precipitation process. Sylvatex's technology offers a significant opportunity to address these production shortcomings. Based on these phase I results, Sylvatex's technology has the potential to slash production energy consumption by 65% and reduce the cost of cathode materials by 19%. Compared to the current co-precipitation production process, these results will allow Sylvatex to make a major contribution to lowering cathode cost, reducing the overall cost of lithium-ion batteries, and ultimately help drive energy storage and electric vehicle customer acceptance and renewable energies market penetration.
Last Modified: 10/23/2019
Modified by: Virginia Irwin Klausmeier
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