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EV batteries have been coasting on the same liquid-electrolyte technology ever since the early 2000s, with some significant tweaks leading to improved performance and lower costs over the years. Still, a sea change in the approach to battery design is needed in order to bring the cost of electric vehicles down to the point of meeting — or even beating — gasmobiles on cost, and energy storage innovators are banking on new solid-state ceramic technology to turn the tide.
Prologium Reinvents EV Batteries, With High Tech Ceramics
Ceramic batteries — sometimes called “glass batteries” — replace the flammable liquid electrolyte in conventional lithium-ion EV batteries fully or partly with a stable, more environmentally friendly solid material.
The evolution of the solid-state battery has been a long time coming. One breakthrough was reported by Hitachi back in 1985, but the idea didn’t gain much traction until 2017. That’s when a team at the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering reported an electrolyte based on glass, building on the work of the legendary lithium-ion battery innovator Professor John Goodenough and senior research fellow Maria Helena Braga.
Moving up to 2024, we find the Taiwanese company ProLogium at the forefront of innovators commercializing EV batteries with ceramic electrolytes. The company has been shifting its R&D timeline into high gear.
In the latest news, on December 12, ProLogium announced that its next-generation lithium ceramic battery was awarded a new certification by the independent safety and performance inspection firm TÜV Rheinland. The achievement follows an initial certification earned in March.
Delivering Results Faster Than Anticipated
“The TÜV Rheinland certification confirms that ProLogium’s next-generation lithium ceramic battery delivers an industry-leading energy density of 811.6 Wh/L (volumetric) and 359.2 Wh/kg (gravimetric),” ProLogium explained in a press statement, adding that the new milestone was achieved on a battery off the company’s pilot-scale production line.
Located in Taouyan, Taiwan, the demonstration facility started operation earlier this year to produce EV batteries with a gigawatt-scale goal in its sights. ProLogium also notes that automakers around the world already have thousands of its ceramic batteries in their hands for testing and development (probably including EV up-and-comer Vinfast, for one).
The previous certification from TÜV Rheinland in March involved a battery with an energy density of 749 Wh/L and 321 Wh/kg. Doing the math (which ProLogium did), the new certification of 811.6 Wh/L and 359.2 Wh/kg represents improvements of 8.36% and 11.90%, respectively, outpacing the company’s own forecast from October.
This year’s burst of timeline-breaking activity did not come out of nowhere. “This milestone…reflects 18 years of relentless efforts in addressing key battery challenges and optimizing manufacturing processes,”observed ProLogium founder and Chairman Vincent Yang, who listed the company’s separator-free ceramic layer and its 100% composite silicon anode among other key breakthroughs.
Apparently we ain’t see nothing yet. In the December 12 announcement, ProLogium teased “further groundbreaking innovations” to be unveiled at CES 2025. The annual, and influential, tech showcase will be held in Las Vegas in January.
Next Steps For Ceramic EV Batteries
ProLogium also states that its new EV batteries beat other market-ready technologies on performance, with an energy density of up to 79.6% higher than the emerging lithium-iron-phosphate and nickel-manganese-cobalt formulas.
“This translates to smaller, lighter battery packs with longer range and improved energy efficiency,” ProLogium notes. The new EV batteries are also capable of delivering 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) range in five minutes, according to the company.
To be clear, commercially successful EV batteries are not necessarily the ones with the best energy density. Cost, manufacturability, and supply chain factors also go into the equation. Still, solid and semi-solid ceramic EV batteries are having a moment, and there is still room for additional improvement.
Researchers at McGill University in Canada, for example, recently reported on a method for improving the performance of ceramic EV batteries by replacing a dense ceramic plate with a porous plate, filling the holes with a polymer.
“By using a polymer-filled porous membrane, we can allow lithium ions to move freely and eliminate the interfacial resistance between the solid electrolyte and the electrodes,” explains research team leader Professor George Demopoulos of the school’s Department of Materials Engineering.
“This not only improves the battery’s performance but also creates a stable interface for high-voltage operation, one of the industry’s key goals,” he adds.
Follow The Money To Better EV Batteries
Here in the US, keep an eye on new EV batteries from the startup Ion Storage Systems. In December of 2023 the University of Maryland spinout hooked up with the leading French materials specialist Saint-Gobain to deliver the specialized powder needed to formulate the battery’s ceramic “brain.”
ION received a vote of investor confidence last year from Toyota Ventures, among other private sector stakeholders, as well as public funding including grants to the University of Maryland.
Another big thumbs-up came this summer, when the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E funding office tapped ION for a $20 million award through its SCALEUP “Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential” program, aimed at accelerating the technology into EV batteries for the commercial market. To qualify for SCALEUP funding, an applicant needs to establish a de-risked and viable route to commercial deployment.
ION is putting its SCALEUP dollars to work on setting up a ceramic electrolyte separator production pilot line along with five other key elements leading to commercial manufacturing. The grant also seems to have caught the eye of Leonid Capital Partners, which announced a debt investment of $10 million in ION on November 13th.
“Unlike traditional designs, ION’s technology eliminates flammability risks, reduces the need for extensive cooling systems, and provides industry-leading energy density attributes,” Leonid Capital explained, indicating that the defense and aerospace sectors will be the low hanging fruit for commercial application.
“Our early performance-driven customers will be battery users who have a need that is not met by existing technology such as high temperature applications like autoclavable battery-powered medical devices or fire-sensitive applications like underwater military vehicles and space-based systems,” ION notes on its ARPA-E page.
As with ProLogium, ION is another example of persistence paying off. The company puts the start date for its core technology at the University of Maryland 14 years ago, back in 2012, before spinning out as a startup in 2105.
EV batteries have come a long way since the 1990s, when the initial version of GM’s EV-1 electric vehicle sported 32 rechargeable lead-acid batteries. Lithium-ion EV batteries with liquid electrolytes have ruled the roost since then, and now it’s time for a new wave of energy storage innovation to enter the field.
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Photo (cropped): A new wave of high-performing, fast-charging solid state EV batteries with ceramic electrolytes is coming into the market, with the Taiwanese firm ProLogium among the leaders (courtesy of Prologium).
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