Battery Metals

Battery researchers are fighting battles on many fronts in their efforts to advance our energy capabilities, and one of those centers on dangly tentacles of lithium called dendrites. These form as a battery charges and quickly degrade their capacity, so scientists are coming at them from all angles in attempts to quash them. New research out of Rice University describes yet another promising possible solution, by working a thin film of carbon nanotubes into the battery design as as way of drowning them out.

Dendrites are microscopic fibers of lithium that form on the anode of lithium-based batteries as they are charged. These become sharp needle-like structures that can pierce the battery’s separator and cause it to short circuit, sometimes even resulting in the battery catching fire. One way to restrict their growth is to limit the charge rate of the battery, but with lithium-metal batteries promising much faster charging times and as much as 10 times the capacity of the lithium-ion batteries used widely today, scientists are keen to address the problem.

We have seen experimental versions designed to limit dendrite growth by using Kevlar nanofibers or the potential for entirely new kinds of electrolytes, the chemical solution that carries a battery’s charge. In fact, last year the same group of Rice University researchers developed a lithium-metal battery made with asphalt that demonstrated faster charging times, as well as a heightened resistance to dendrite formation.

The team has now taken another step forward by bringing a film made of carbon nanotubes into the mix. This is used to coat the lithium metal anode of the battery, and serves to more effectively drown out the dendrites, kind of like throwing mulch onto a garden bed as a form of weed control. Except this film soaks up lithium ions from the anode and distributes them during charging, all without affecting the charging rates themselves.

“The role of carbon nanotube film is to distribute the lithium deposition, helping to create a smooth layer of lithum with no dendrites,” study co-author Rodrigo Salvatierra tells New Atlas. “In that sense, the carbon-nanotube modification does not limit these batteries to slow charging rates. In fact, high rates can be applied for both charge and discharge.”

In integrating this new component into the asphalt-lithium metal battery developed last year, the Rice researchers found the film prevented dendrite growth over 580 charging cycles. During this time, the battery’s cells maintained 99.8 percent of their coulombic efficiency, and the finished product should also be a littler easier to construct, as Salvatierra explains.

“This works differently from the asphalt-particles in several aspects,” he says. “First, we are using a thin carbon nanotube film to modify a solid lithium metal foil, therefore the lithium metal foil and carbon nanotube film are ready to go in a battery. In the asphalt-derived electrodes, lithium metal had to be electrochemically deposited over the particles before the use in the full battery device.”

Salvatierra also tells us that this new anode can store three to five times more charge than commercially available versions, and that a fully charged version was stored for a month with “negligible charge loss,” which bodes well for its potential use as a long-term energy storage solution.

If Tesla is to power on with its goal of ramping up production of the Model 3, and continue to deliver the profits it finally achieved in the third quarter of 2018, one thing is certain – it’s going to need a lot of EV batteries.

CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted on the weekend that the EV maker is, in partnership with Panasonic, producing around 60 per cent of electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries.

Tesla itself made around 20GWh in Q3, and another 4-5GWh of cells reportedly sourced from “Japan and elsewhere”. The rest of the world could muster just 19-20GWh. That share speaks to Tesla’s market share, and the size of its battery packs in the Models S, X and 3.

Musk previously said in last month’s Q3 earning call, that, “We are making a pretty nutty amount of the world’s lithium-ion batteries.”

In response to an article by Teslarati, Musk said, “Amazing results by @Panasonic at Tesla Gigafactory Nevada! Very much appreciate extreme hard work it took to achieve this result. Together with Pana Japan cell plants, Tesla/Pana partnership is producing ~60% of global EV battery output!”

While Panasonic warned of battery supply shortages back in June, it seems it has resolved whatever issues were holding the electronics giant back.

Musk’s team said, “Also, Panasonic supply is expanding, as productivity of existing lines continuing to improve,” adding that by the end of the year another line of supply would be available, followed by another next year.”

Asked if Panasonic would have a hand in production of batteries at the upcoming China gigafactory, Musk would only confirm that cells would be sourced from local companies including Panasonic, with module and pack production completed by Tesla.

Electronics giant LG has also announced plans to open another EV battery plant in China, and says it will produce 1.5 million EV batteries per year by 2020 – meaning even on conservative estimates (average battery size of 60kWh) that Tesla could have a serious competitor producing 20+GWh of batteries per quarter.

Major financial and research support from the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill., have put a jolt in Jolt Energy Storage Technologies LLC, a Holland-based spinoff from Michigan State University that hopes to reduce or eliminate the danger of lithium-ion batteries overheating and exploding from being overcharged.

It came in April when Argonne announced that company co-founder Thomas Guarr had been named one of six winners of its Chain Reaction Innovations program from a national field of 83 applicants. The program pays recipients a salary of $89,000 a year for two years and provides the company $220,000 for R&D work at Argonne, half provided internally by Argonne and half by the U.S. Department of Energy. It also provides $20,000 in travel money for Guarr and provides coaching on customer acquisition, entrepreneurship and manufacturing by mentors from the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago and the Purdue Foundry at Purdue University.

The program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, will also provide introductions to potential investors.

Jolt got a second jolt in October, winning the top award at an energy conference in Savannah, Ga. Jolt won the Orcelle Awards’ grand prize of $100,000 at the annual pitch competition hosted by the Ocean Exchange, a seven-year-old nonprofit whose mission is to help advance technology and create prototypes in energy sustainability.

Guarr and his co-founder, Jack Johnson, have demonstrated in the lab that they can use organic-based molecules that change their shape when lithium-ion is verging on overheating. The carbon-based molecules look akin to butterflies, but as they begin to overheat, they fold in their wings, which causes heat to dissipate.

Jolt calls their compounds voltage-regulating-electrochemical shunts.

“The first step for us at Argonne is to make and test lithium-ion batteries with our additives,” said Guarr. “We’ll look at different lithium-ion chemistries. There are several out in the marketplace batteries. And we’ll look at different levels of our additives.”

Guarr said that while they could do a lot of that sort of testing in Holland, “If we were to test cells ourselves, battery manufacturers aren’t going to take our word for it. But if Argonne is doing the testing, we can get a foot in the door with manufacturers.”

The business plan is to sell their organic-based compounds to battery manufacturers.

In addition to providing compounds to make small batteries safer things like cell phones and laptops, Jolt hopes to prove that its technology can be applied to what are termed redox flow batteries, which provide large-scale energy-storage applications for commercial power companies. Because energy from renewable sources like wind and solar tends to be intermittent, reliable energy storage at the grid level is important to provide smooth power output.

Guarr retains his position of director of research and development at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute in Holland, a former Pfizer Inc. facility, where Jolt has recently opened a small lab, and he continues to run the internship program at the institute.

Jolt, which was formally launched in 2014 but remained below the radar while it worked on its technology, licensed intellectual property on the use of organic compounds in batteries from MSU in 2016. The technology was developed in the Organic Energy Storage Laboratory at the Bioeconomy Institute.

Jolt has three patents pending.

While Guarr is the point person for research and has the title of chief scientist, Johnson is chief engineer and heads up business development. At the same time he co-founded Jolt, which does not yet pay him a salary, he founded Holland-based Volta Power Systems LLC, a maker of energy components and energy-storage systems for the RV, marine and heavy equipment markets. It now employs 13.

Johnson spent almost 16 years at Johnson Controls, the last five as manager of advanced manufacturing for lithium-ion battery production. Under his leadership, Johnson’s plant in Holland grew to be the largest lithium-ion plant in the country. He left Johnson controls to co-found Jolt and found Volta.

“I have a relationship with all the major battery manufacturers,” said Johnson. “They all know I’m working on something big. They just want me to come back with data.”

Joining Guarr and Johnson on the management team is Scot Lindemann, the former president of J.R. Automation Technologies LLC, a Holland-based maker of factory automation equipment. “He knows a lot of the big guys in advanced technology. He made a lot of machines for those guys,” said Johnson.

Jolt has raised a total of $650,000 in funding, including $100,000 from the Muskegon Angels, $25,000 each from three other angel investors and $50,000 from Red Cedar Ventures, a funding subsidiary of the nonprofit Michigan State University Foundation created to commercialize faculty research, helped launch Jolt with seed funding.

“The Muskegon Angels want to invest in companies first in Muskegon, but also West Michigan that have the potential to impact the triple bottom line — profits, people, planet. Jolt’s technology clearly hit all three aspects,” said Bill Cousineau, the group’s president. “As the technology is proven out, the growth will in turn provide additional jobs to support families and profits to those that have invested in their vision. The Muskegon Angels are thrilled to be a part of this exciting opportunity.”

“We saw a great team forming with Jack Johnson and Tom Guarr,” said Jeff Wesley, Red Cedar Ventures’ executive director. “First of all, Dr. Guarr is recognized nationally, and going to Argonne, that validates the technology. And look at Jack’s background. He knows the battery and auto space. Tom focuses on the research, Jack on the marketplace. It’s a match made in heaven.”

Dave Washburn, the executive director of the MSU Foundation and president of Red Cedar Ventures, said the company is eligible for further funding of up to $500,000 from the Opportunity Fund, a $5 million fund Red Cedar manages for follow-on investing.

 

Gold futures declined on Friday after a stronger-than-expected October jobs report, prompting prices for the precious metal to end the week with a modest loss.

Gold for December delivery GCZ8, -0.32% fell $5.30, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,233.30 an ounce. It ended the week roughly 0.2% lower, according to FactSet data. On Thursday, gold settled at a more than three-month high, up 1.9% as the U.S. dollar weakened, boosting demand or the dollar-denominated precious metal.

December silver SIZ8, -0.22% meanwhile, finished Friday with a loss of 2.1 cents, or 0.1%, at $14.756 an ounce after rallying by 3.5% Thursday. It still scored a 0.4% rise for the week.

The U.S. economy added 250,000 new jobs in October, topping the consensus forecast of 208,000, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at a 48-year low of 3.7%. Average hourly earnings saw 12-month growth accelerate to 3.1% from 2.8% in September.

Analysts had warned that a strong October jobs report could weigh on gold as it would underline expectations the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates at a steady pace, lifting Treasury yields and the dollar. Higher bond yields can also be a headwind for gold and other commodities since the latter doesn’t offer an income stream.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% was up 6.2 basis points at 3.201%, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.21% which measures the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.3% at 96.542 as gold prices settled.

Analysts were also discussing Wednesday’s third-quarter update on demand trends from the World Gold Council, which showed strong central bank purchases and increases in consumer appetite but growing supply and weak investment flows.

Christopher Louney, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, noted that October, the first full month of the fourth quarter, saw a recovery in physically backed gold holdings by exchange-traded products, which rose by more than 20 tons overall.

On Friday, however, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF GLD, +0.02% shed 0.1%, looking to end the week with a loss of 0.2%.

“With such uncertainty around the mid-terms on Tuesday” and the Fed’s monetary-policy meeting next week, “gold is taking a pause after its best winning streak since January,” up four weeks running based on the Friday PM London benchmark, said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault. The central bank will wrap up its two-day policy meeting on Thursday.

“But the more significant event for prices next week might be Diwali in India,” Ash said. “Now the metal’s No. 2 consumer nation is reaching its peak demand season with prices near six-year highs (thanks to the sinking Rupee). That’s badly hurting gifting and investing among the world’s wiliest gold-buying households.”

In other metals trade, January platinum PLF9, +1.08% rose 1.5% to $875.70 an ounce—up about 5% for the week, while December palladium PAZ8, +1.97% gained 2.1% to $1,104.50 an ounce, tacking on roughly 1.7% from a week ago. December copper prices HGZ8, +3.55% jumped 3.1% to $2.807 a pound, ending the week up 2.4%.

Researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands have visualized how atoms behave in between graphene and a substrate, which could be instrumental for future implementations of industrial graphene production.

A basic idea for large-scale production is heating silicon carbide to almost 2,000 degrees C, and a graphene layer grows on its surface. However, researchers need to make sure that the desired properties of the graphene are not disturbed by the substrate. Inserting hydrogen atoms in between the graphene and silicon carbide isolates the graphene and leaves it intact as a single-layer material. Physicist Sense Jan van der Molen and his research group at Leiden University have visualized for the first time how those atoms behave underneath the graphene.

The researchers used a low-energy electron microscope (LEEM) to study what happens to hydrogen atoms sandwiched between graphene and silicon carbide. They spotted lines where the graphene layer is strained. The hydrogen atoms use the lines as tunnels where they can escape more easily, whereas they stay put much longer under the graphene’s smooth regions between these lines. “The reversed process is widely used in research to decouple the graphene from the substrate,” says the team.

“But it was not clear how the hydrogen moves at the interface. We could show that hydrogen gas can be blown into those tunnels so that it will spread quickly underneath the graphene layer in the form of individual atoms.”

Chemistry can be expensive. For example, platinum is used to clean exhaust gases. This precious metal acts as a catalyst which speeds up chemical reactions. Without catalysts, it would not be possible to carry out a large number of processes in the chemical industry.

“Many groups of researchers are experimenting with new material compounds made of lower-cost base metals such as iron, copper, or aluminum. However, so far nobody has been able to predict whether, how, and why these catalysts react”, explains Roland Fischer, Professor for Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). “Our goal was to bridge this gap and to create the basis for understanding a new generation of catalysts.”

Together with his team, the chemist has now uncovered a secret of base metal compounds. “What was new about our approach was that we did not examine existing materials, but instead went bottom-up and built compounds made of individual copper and aluminum atoms”, Fischer explains.

Combining two metals at the atomic level requires no small amount of know-how and finesse: Within a protective argon atmosphere, the chemists combined the metal atoms which were bound to organic compounds in a test tube, to which they then added a solvent.

“Naturally, we hoped that the copper and aluminum atoms would separate from the organic compounds and form a cluster together. But whether they would actually do that and what the result would be was entirely unclear”, remembers Fischer.

Hence, the chemists were extremely delighted to find that reddish-black particles with a diameter of up to one millimeter had formed at the bottom of the test tube. X-ray images revealed an extremely complex structure: In each case, 55 copper and aluminum atoms were arranged such that they formed a crystal whose surface consisted of 20 equilateral triangles.

Crystallographers call such shapes icosahedrons Additional experiments showed that chemically, the crystals react like an individual copper atom and are also paramagnetic, which means that they are attracted by a magnetic field.

An explanation for the extraordinary properties of the metal clusters was provided by Prof. Jean-Yves Saillard from the French university in Rennes: According to him, 43 and 12 aluminum atoms organize themselves into a “superatom” in which the metals form a shared electron shell which resembles that of a single metal atom. The researchers now intend to use the findings of the research project to develop fine-grained and hence highly effective catalyst materials.