AM Batteries (AMB), a developer of lithium-ion dry-electrode technology, and Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), a producer of lithium-ion batteries, have teamed up to develop solvent-free electrode manufacturing technology for Li-ion cell production.

The joint endeavor seeks to tackle some of the most critical challenges facing the Li-ion battery production industry: heavy carbon footprint, energy consumption, and high infrastructure cost derived from the current standard solvent evaporation process used for electrode fabrication.

To produce key battery electrode components sustainably, AMB has developed a unique electrostatic-spray-deposition technique by which dry cathode and anode electrode materials are electrostatically charged and deposited onto metal-foil current collectors, which are then processed to their final state without the use of toxic solvents. This is a platform-technology innovation that enables significant reduction in operational costs from energy savings, reduction in electrode-coating capital equipment expenses, and reduction in physical footprint infrastructure requirements.

Battery manufacturers also stand to benefit from a meaningful reduction in CO₂ emissions should they make batteries using AMB’s dry-electrode process. With the additional avenues for customization afforded by the dry process, AMB’s technology also offers a path to other benefits, such as faster-charging, higher energy density, and safer batteries with current and future battery chemistries.

The AMB process may be further developed to integrate to full-scale production applications in collaboration with ATL’s subject matter experts.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to increase around the world. One of the fundamental problems for battery manufacturers is refining manufacturing techniques to remove the solvents used in ‘wet-coating’ of electrodes. Our dry-electrode manufacturing technology allows for the coating of lithium-ion battery electrodes without the need for any solvents or energy-intensive evaporation.

—Yan Wang, AMB CEO