Our society is heading toward an electric-mobility future.
Batteries are at the center of this revolution.
Mobile battery-powered devices are ubiquitous in our daily lives encompassing everything from phones to electric vehicles. Performance demands from consumers push manufacturers to seek higher performing, more reliable, and lower cost batteries. Unfortunately, the best available Li-ion batteries are nearing their performance limits due to material limitations. Conventional Li-ion also has significant safety concerns that lead to increased cost, as safety features must be engineered into the battery system.
The electric vehicle (EV) is revolutionizing the transportation industry by offering the most viable path to zero-emission transportation, lower cost-of-ownership, and increased performance. EV batteries face continuous pressure for increased performance and lower cost. While current lithium-ion batteries continue to provide incremental improvements, the industry demands more advanced solutions capable of providing a true jump in performance thereby accelerating e-mobility.
One approach to achieving a substantial increase in battery energy density is through the use of lithium metal as the anode material. Lithium metal anodes are not typically used in rechargeable batteries due to their tendency to short-circuit due to “dendrite” growth. Solid-state represents a viable path to enabling stable cycling of lithium metal batteries as the solid electrolyte-separator layer allows for uniform plating and stripping of Li metal without formation of dendrites or consumption of the electrolyte. The result is an energy dense, highly reliable all solid-state battery capable of delivering high cycle life and high power. While rechargeable all solid-state batteries (ASSB) using a lithium-metal have been commercialized, they have either been limited to very small capacity cells (a few mAh at most) or require continuous operation at elevated temperature, in both cases due to inherent limits in their solid-electrolyte material.
New solid electrolytes are continuously being invented with much higher ionic conductivities than those used in thin-film ASSBs but thus far no group has demonstrated an ASSB that can meet all mobile power performance requirements (energy, power, cycle life, and cost) while also being manufactured using scalable processes. Overcoming these barriers in ASSB performance and cost is Solid Power’s mission.
Electric vehicles are revolutionizing the automotive sector - delivering the most viable path towards near zero-emission transportation. By increasing safety and energy, Solid Power’s ASSB is positioned to play a key role in powering the automotive industry’s next-generation by addressing consumers’ performance and cost concerns.
Industrial applications are one of several primary markets for Solid Power. Our unique combination of safety, energy density, low self-discharge, and high temperature tolerance allows our batteries to go where others cannot.
Aircraft and satellites are placing ever-increasing demands on their battery systems. Whether it be future all-electric-aircraft or advanced electric propulsion systems increasingly utilized by low-earth orbit (LEO) small satellites, the need for higher energy batteries is ever present as it directly determines mission success. Furthermore, previous safety events have necessitated over-engineered battery packs, adding weight and limiting effectiveness. Reducing weight and enhancing safety are game changers.
The military is increasingly reliant on battery-powered devices and indeed, the burden of carrying these batteries has become a significant concern to military leadership. For defense applications, every gram counts when operations translate to life and safety such as suiting combat soldiers with life-saving electronics or allowing unmanned systems to meet their Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Solid-state batteries offer advancements in portable military products that elevate safety and performance while decreasing weight.
High performance and highly manufacturable all-solid-state batteries.
As the name implies, our solid-state batteries (ASSB) replace the liquid electrolyte in a conventional lithium-ion battery with a highly stable solid ion-conducting material. As a result, our ASSBs are inherently more stable across a broad temperature range while also enabling more efficient cell and pack designs as containment of a liquid is no longer required.
By simply combining a state-of-the-art cathode with a lithium metal anode, Solid Power’s ASSBs can deliver greater than 50% more energy density compared to the best available rechargeable batteries. By removing flammable liquid electrolytes, we provide an inherently safer battery with a simplified cell architecture. Finally, our ASSBs are manufactured in a manner that is highly compatible with industry-standard roll-to-roll manufacturing used in current lithium-ion production.
Our technology suite begins with our solid electrolyte material. We have developed a family of inorganic solid electrolyte materials that are uniquely suited to their intended use. High cell-level energy is enabled through the use of metallic lithium as an anode, a material with a capacity 10 times greater than the graphite anodes used in current lithium-ion batteries. By enabling a metallic lithium anode, we can deliver an energy density and specific energy that greatly surpasses the best available rechargeable batteries. The combination of increased safety, higher energy, and design simplicity translate into lower cost battery systems by eliminating many of the highly engineered safety and thermal management features that are necessary with today’s lithium-ion batteries.
Cutting-edge energy dense materials enables longer run-time per charge than existing batteries.
We make batteries containing no flammable liquid electrolytes. Our batteries consistently exhibit fully benign failure under abuse conditions.
Unsurpassed shelf life, abuse tolerance and high temperature stability.
Power that is inherently safer with higher energy density and a longer lifespan.
Revolutionizing the battery is hard.
But really important work often is.
Solid Power is an industry-leading developer of next-generation all-solid-state batteries. With considerably higher energy and greatly improved safety, ASSBs have the potential to revolutionize future mobile power markets. Established in 2012, our world-class team of battery researchers and engineers are engaged in both new material development and manufacturing scale-up in our Colorado-based facility.
Solid Power’s team and facility are pushing the boundary of ASSB performance and manufacturing scale. We work exclusively with ASSB materials that provide the best blend of performance and manufacturability. Our state-of-the-art research facility, combined with our MWh-scale roll-to-roll pilot manufacturing line, enables new material development and rapid transition to scale. Our team is heavily focused on meeting our customers’ and partners’ performance, manufacturing, and economic requirements thereby accelerating widespread e-mobility.
From the outside, Solid Power is an industry-leading developer of ASSBs. From the inside, Solid Power is a collection of individuals with a shared passion and purpose in revolutionizing energy storage and enabling future e-mobility. Our work environment is highly collaborative and one that is based on trust and mutual respect. We take pride in our honest and transparent approach to communication, whether it be internally or with our external partners and customers. Our team is made up of incredibly talented and creative engineers and scientists who take considerable pride and ownership in their work. We believe very strongly that these traits combine to result in an exceptionally high-quality work product that meets or exceeds our customers’ and partners’ expectations.
Solid Power is an industry-leading developer of next-generation all-solid-state batteries. We are a key player in the automotive industry’s quest to further develop ASSBs toward automotive requirements, which could truly transform the design and integration of electric vehicles.
We are always looking for the world's most talented engineers, those who thrive on a fast-paced environment and who are driven to push the industry to new heights and tackle new challenges.
Solid Power is always looking for team members to support our cutting-edge, high technology programs. Click below to view our job openings.
Driving the battery industry forward.
Solid-state batteries replace two key components of a traditional lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery – a liquid electrolyte and plastic separator – with a single solid ion-conducting material. By employing the right solid material, solid-state batteries promise vast improvements over commercially available state-of-the-art in terms of energy and safety.
Why the hype? Simply speaking, “the electrification of everything” is now and the need for high energy, safer and lower cost batteries is at an all-time high and showing no signs of slowing.
To dig deeper, we’ll focus on current Li-ion batteries for reference:
Lithium-ion
Li-ion batteries have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives powering everything from our cell phones to our numerous wearable/portable devices. Li-ion batteries are the key enabler for “the electrification of everything”. As battery performance improves, the number of applications that can switch to electric power will continue to grow.
Li-ion performance has increased dramatically since its commercial introduction in 1991. However, this increase in performance has slowed greatly resulting in a case of diminishing marginal returns – i.e. today’s Li-ion batteries can only get so much better.
To understand why – let’s talk about the components of a typical battery or “cell”. The Li-ion battery today has two active components: the cathode and anode, where lithium sits in its charged and discharged states. However, lithium cannot usefully travel between the cathode and anode without a liquid electrolyte and plastic separator. The electrolyte enables the transport of ions between the electrodes, while the separator assures the movement of ions occurs safely and selectively. Therein lies the challenge with traditional Li-ion batteries; failure of any of these components such as what might occur under abuse conditions (e.g, shorting, crush, overheating, etc.) can result in a very catastrophic failure of the Li-ion cell. These catastrophic failures are further amplified as the cell energy increases – i.e., as you pack more energy into the same space. These failure mechanisms have led to numerous well-reported battery fires seen over the past several decades.
It is important to note that Li-ion cells can be safe provided they:
Are manufactured to sufficient quality standards.
Are operated within the well prescribed operational window.
Incorporate appropriate control electronics and safety features, typically at the pack-level.
However, these engineering and manufacturing features add considerable cost to the overall battery pack. Thus, the mobile power industry is highly motivated to develop new rechargeable batteries that can break through the energy barrier inherent to current Li-ion while providing considerable safety improvements leading to lower cost battery packs. Successfully achieving these goals is critical to satisfying our society’s demands for smaller, lighter, and safer devices (cellphones, laptops and EVs).
Solid-state
Solid-state, as the name implies, uses a solid material to enable transport of lithium ions in a battery. The benefits of this materials system include:
Safety: The solid electrolyte is non-volatile with better heat tolerance, making solid-state batteries inherently safer. While they do indeed fail under abuse conditions, the failure is highly benign without any of the fire or explosion commonly seen in catastrophic failure of Li-ion cells.
Increased energy density: With better energy density comes smaller and lighter devices. With solid-state, you can use higher energy materials – particularly at the anode – allowing vast improvements in the amount of energy storage in a given weight or volume. This will benefit electronics with smaller and lighter devices, but also EVs by increasing electric range.
Simpler packaging and lower cost: Li-ion batteries can be made safer, but only by careful control and packaging. This is particularly true with larger battery packs that are found in electric vehicles. With certain types of solid-state, you are less concerned with high battery temperatures and can potentially remove cooling systems entirely. This in turn opens up certain design constraints and allows cells to be packed more tightly and with less cell package mass and volume. Not only are the resultant batteries higher energy at the individual cell-level, but the improved packaging efficiency means even higher energy at the pack-level.
Why aren’t solid-state batteries widely available today?
As with any significant new technology advancement, the path from the lab to mass-market is challenging. This is especially true in batteries because electrochemistry, to put it simply, is hard. As one Advisor once told us, “the tech community is very good at finding new ways to move electrons. You guys are figuring out new ways to move ions – that’s hard!”
However, at Solid Power we are making great progress. We are taking a leap forward in battery performance and cell size as we build our pilot plant in Colorado. With our new facility on-line, we expect to produce cells at a standard equivalent to those that will power future electric vehicles. Along the way, we will continue our progress towards commercializing solid state batteries in markets like medical, industrial, and aerospace to name a few. We’re excited for the battery-powered future that lies ahead!
Solid-state batteries replace two key components of a traditional lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery – a liquid electrolyte and plastic separator – with a single solid ion-conducting material. By employing the right solid material, solid-state batteries promise vast improvements over commercially available state-of-the-art in terms of energy and safety.
While breakthroughs could be a decade away, the lithium metal battery could offer a major leap in capability for electric vehicles and the grid.
Solid state battery technology has recently garnered considerable interest from companies. The primary driver behind the commercialization of solid state batteries (SSBs) is to enable the use of lithium metal as the anode, as opposed to the currently used carbon anode, which would result in ~20% energy density improvement.
Solid-state batteries may be the potential replacement for lithium-ion batteries. Dyson is just one of many companies that looks to shake up the electric vehicle industry by using solid-state batteries in its 2020 car lineup.
The key catalyst to the electrification of everything is a better battery.
