2020 R&D 100 Award for Cobalt-Free Li-ion Battery Cathode Material

  • Belharouak, Ilias (Recipient), Muralidharan, Nitin (Recipient), Essehli, Rachid (Recipient), Nanda, Jagjjt (Recipient), Khaleel, Mohammad (Recipient) & Malhotra, Sanjiv (Recipient)

Prize: Honorary award

Description

Cobalt is a rare, costly and difficult-to-access metal that increases the performance but reduces the safety of lithium-ion batteries found in consumer electronics such as mobile devices and in electric vehicles. The metal is used in a battery’s cathode, the positively charged end that determines much of a battery’s performance.

ORNL researchers have developed a cobalt-free cathode material for use in lithium-ion batteries made with nickel, iron, and aluminum (NFA) in the place of cobalt. The material exhibits electrochemical properties similar to cobalt and demonstrates comparable performance. NFA cathodes can replace cobalt-containing cathodes at a lower-cost, while maintaining performance and creating minimal disruption to the lithium-ion manufacturing process.

Funding for this project was provided by the DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office.

Ilias Belharouak led the ORNL portion of the development team which included ORNL’s Nitin Muralidharan, Rachid Essehli, Jagjjt Nanda, Mohammad Khaleel; and Sparkz’s Sanjiv Malhotra.

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