ORNL researchers develop new electrolyte for extreme fast charging

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and colleagues have developed a novel high-performance electrolyte (HPE) consisting of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI), lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆) and carbonates to support extreme fast charging (XFC). A paper on their work appears in the journal Batteries & Supercaps.

Realizing XFC in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles is still challenging due to the insufficient lithium-ion transport kinetics, especially in the electrolyte, the researchers note.

They tested the new electrolyte in pilot-scale, 2-Ah pouch cells and found that the HPE-based pouch cells deliver improved discharge specific capacity and excellent long-term cyclability up to 1500 cycles under XFC conditions—superior to the conventional state-of-the-art baseline electrolyte. The cell recharged 80% of its capacity in 10 minutes.

Du et al.

We found this new electrolyte formulation basically triples the Department of Energy’s target for the lifespan of an extreme-fast-charging battery.

—Zhijia Du, corresponding author

Resources

• Du, Z., Yang, Z., Tao, R., Shipitsyn, V., Wu, X., Robertson, D. C., Livingston, K. M., Hagler, S., Kwon, J., Ma, L., Bloom, I. D., Ingram, B. J., (2023) “A Novel High-Performance Electrolyte for Extreme Fast Charging in Pilot Scale Lithium-Ion Pouch Cells” Batteries & Supercaps doi: 10.1002/batt.202300292