USABC awards $3.5M low-cost/fast-charge battery technology development contract to Zenlabs Energy
30 June 2022
The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC) awarded a $3.5-million technology development contract to Zenlabs Energy Inc. in Fremont, California for a low-cost/fast-charge (LCFC) technology development.
Zenlabs has developed proprietary silicon-based formulations that offer higher specific capacity, longer cycle life, and lower cost. Zenlabs’ anodes feature a high loading level and high active silicon content. In addition, Zenlabs has solved the common problems with silicon-based anodes such as poor cycling and swelling.
Zenlabs combines these high capacity anodes with high capacity cathode materials in large format pouch cells to achieve energy densities that are much higher than what is commercially available.
The contract award, which includes a 50% cost share, funds a 24-month project that began earlier this year. The program will focus on electrolyte and active material development to form a stable passivation layer on the surface of both the anode and cathode, and address the remaining challenges associated with high-energy, high-power and low-cost silicon-dominant anode cells for EV applications. This is Zenlabs’ third contract with USABC.
USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE), USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that advance commercialization of next generation electrified vehicle applications. In support of its mission, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress.
USCAR is the collaborative automotive technology company for Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis. The goal of USCAR is to further strengthen the technology base of the domestic auto industry through cooperative research and development.
All USCAR Member companies have joined in becoming signatories of the Responsible Raw Materials Initiative (RRMI, now part of the Responsible Minerals Initiative, RMI) Declaration of Support.
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