Ornl, solid power sign exclusive license for lithium-sulfur battery tech
On November 20, 2015, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Solid Power Inc. signed an exclusive agreement to license lithium-sulfur materials for next-generation batteries. This collaboration aimed to develop more energy-dense batteries, leveraging ORNL’s proof-of-concept battery research, which demonstrated improved power, operating temperature, manufacturability, and cost-effectiveness.
Solid Power, a company based in Louisville, Colo., had the mission of creating next-generation energy storage devices for the rapidly growing rechargeable battery market dominated by lithium-ion technologies. The market’s annual worth was estimated at $12 billion, with projections to reach $20 billion by 2020 to meet demands in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and military, aerospace, and industrial applications.
The ORNL technology provided significant advantages for Solid Power’s plans, as it enabled the development of solid-state rechargeable batteries capable of providing two to three times the energy of conventional lithium-ion technologies. All-solid batteries also held the potential to reduce costs by eliminating the need for many expensive safety features typically associated with liquid-based lithium-ion systems.
Solid Power’s strategy involved implementing a simple battery cell architecture based on standard manufacturing processes. To support this goal, the company constructed a 700-square-foot dry room facility with roll-to-roll processing capabilities for large-scale prototype production starting at the end of 2015 and continuing into 2016.
The ORNL team, led by researchers including Nancy Dudney, Jane Howe, and Chengdu Liang, played a crucial role in developing the technology. Their work was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the Vehicle Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Key research activities were carried out at ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences.
ORNL and UT-Battelle, which managed ORNL, collaborated closely with licensees like Solid Power to ensure the successful commercialization of licensed technologies. For more information on licensing ORNL technologies, interested parties could visit the official website http://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/technology-licensing.
Overall, this partnership and licensing agreement held great promise for advancing energy storage solutions and addressing the growing demand for more efficient and powerful batteries in various industries.
