Battery500: Progress Update
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have found widespread use in electric vehicles (EV) and grid-scale energy storage. This adoption is partially in response to the dramatic decrease in EV battery costs over the past ten years, from over $1000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to under $200/kWh. Increasing cell energy is one way to decrease cost even further, as a higher specific energy value will result in fewer materials needed for the same total battery energy. But it is difficult to increase the energy density beyond that of today’s cells, which are approximately 220 watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) using graphite anodes. Li-metal anodes deliver almost 10 times the storage capacity of graphite anodes, thus enabling much higher cell energies. However, Li-metal anodes suffer from poor cycle life (typically 10 cycles or less, compared to the 1000 cycle EV battery requirement.
Launched in 2017, the Battery500 Consortium is a multi-institution program working to develop next-generation Li-metal anode cells delivering up to 500 Wh/kg. Read more about Battery500 Progress.
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