
NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | March 9, 2022 |
Latest Amendment Date: | March 9, 2022 |
Award Number: | 2136692 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Ela Mirowski
emirowsk@nsf.gov (703)292-2936 TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
Start Date: | March 15, 2022 |
End Date: | February 28, 2023 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $256,000.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $256,000.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
12559 EL CAMINO REAL UNIT B SAN DIEGO CA US 92130-4067 (617)319-6618 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
CA US 92130-4067 |
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): | 47.041, 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance a new class of batteries for transportation. The proposed battery design will maximize the rate of charge and battery lifetime while maintaining high energy density, in contrast with current battery research that primarily focuses on maximizing energy density. This new operating parameter will open the design space for smaller batteries that result in lighter weight, lower cost and longer life vehicle platforms to enable all-electric transportation. In addition, the new operating parameters enable the widespread adoption of two new applications, (i) vehicle to grid and (ii) mobility as a service. The associated reduction of greenhouse gases will be 1+ gigaton annually.
The proposed project develops a lithium battery coin cell that demonstrates 3 minutes ultrafast charge and 20,000 extended cycle life performance, using the novel disordered rock salt Li3V2O5 anode. This project explores ultrafast charge lithium ion battery platforms. Technical objectives include: 1) charging times comparable to filling up today's gas tanks; 2) batteries with a higher safety profile that last the entire service life of the vehicle; 3) vehicles that can connect to the electric grid for renewables integration.
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.
Current lithium-ion batteries take an hour or more to fully charge, have limited cycle life (<1,000 cycles), and require charging temperatures well above freezing to maintain performance and ensure battery safety. These limitations come are primarily from the graphite anode electrode contained inside the lithium-ion battery.
Tyfast’s NSF SBIR Phase I project is focused on developing a new anode electrode that replaces graphite to enable a new class of battery performance. This new electrode called lithium vanadium oxide or LVO allows lithium-ion batteries to charge in 3 minutes to 80% state of charge, deliver over 20,000 cycles of life and enable charging down to -40 Celsius without battery pre-heating. These performance metrics are beyond the envelope of current lithium-ion battery performance establishing a new class of battery products.
Tyfast conducted a 12-month research program and successfully demonstrated the project objectives for this breakthrough battery with a proof-of-concept full battery pouch cells (credit-card sized battery dimensions) that uses our new LVO anode. The project plan was divided into 15 different tasks to fully investigate the LVO material then build a full battery cell.
Tasks 1-9 were focused on LVO powder optimization and electrode formulation to improve battery charging speed performance and increase battery energy density. Tasks 10-12 focused on the electrolyte component to select the highest conductivity candidate material with good stability. Task 13 was solely focused on optimizing the cathode electrode to improve battery rate performance and capacity. Finally, Tasks 14-15 focused on building the full battery cells and testing for fast charge and long cycle life.
At the end of 12-months, we demonstrated the project deliverables using full battery cells and showing 3 minutes fast charging time to 80% state of charge, 20,000 cycles performance while maintaining high performance, safe charge down to -40 ºC, and achieved a projected energy density of > 150 Wh/kg. Further, the use of vanadium is as a new electrode is a positive development for lithium battery technologies as it is an element more abundant than Li or Co and is produced at >5,000 metric tons annually in the United States.
Successful scaling of this LVO electrode to full electric vehicles will enable all climate electric vehicles that can operate in colder Northern climates. With long cycle life batteries and lifetime range that is rated over 1 million miles, we can enable a robust used electric vehicle market. Further, fast charging and long cycle batteries opens the door to support commercial vehicles such as taxis, buses and trucks. These vehicles operating an 8-hour daily shift travel up to 50,000 miles annually. Assuming a 15-year lifetime results in a driving range of over 750,000 miles, significantly higher than household EVs. Finally, development of this technology can lower the cost of EV ownership via vehicle participation in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services while supporting massive integration of renewables for true energy decarbonization.
The project's impact on society extends beyond science, engineering, and the academic world. The development and demonstration of Tyfast’s LVO electrode technology brings the United States to the forefront of energy storage leadership. This technology will further reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and shift the energy utilization to renewable electricity supporting energy independence and national security. Further, development and commercialization of new technology will enhance United States leadership in training, motivating and inspiring the next generation work force to engage in science and technology fields.
Last Modified: 03/30/2023
Modified by: Gerardo Jose La O'
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