Cell Design and Materials: Lithium Sulfur

Lithium-Sulfur Battery Bill of Materials Active

Material Properties

Capacity (mAh/g)

Voltage Range V

Tap Density (g/cm3)

Cycle Life

Prospects & Challenges

Cathodes

Sulfur Carbon

Safety is better relative to conventional Li-ion Voltage window prohibitive to pack design Poor volumetric energy density due to tap density

SPAN/Inverse Vulcanization

Poor volumetric and gravimetric energy Limited power density due to nominal voltage

Lithium Sulfide

High moisture sensitivity leads to higher costs Poor volumetric energy due to tap density

Silicon

Poor volumetric energy due to tap density Feedstock limits costs & quality

Lithium/ Lithium Alloy

Need to manage high volume change Limited cycle life reported

Anodes

Inactive

Material Properties

Description

Prospects & Challenges

Electrolyte

Ether based

LiTFSI salt in ethers / fluoro ethers

Ethers solubility allows for a broad use of additives and salts for anode stability Ethers dissolve active CAM material within the cell

Carbonate based

LiPF6 salt in Cyclic/Linear carbonate mixtures

Good oxidative stability, but need to manage gas generation/accumulation

Aluminum Foil

Used at Cathode

At < 1 V aluminum will react with Lithium Weight of Al significant vs cathode loading

Copper Foil

Used at Anode

Copper weight is a significant impact on overall cell weight Due to chemistry window - Copper should be ok at 0V

Current Collector

Source: 1. Yao, A. Benson, S.M., Chueh, W.C. How quickly can sodium-ion learn? Assessing scenarios for techno-economic competitiveness against lithium-ion batteries. arXiv::2403.13759v3 2024; 2. Shanghai Metals Market SMM. Metals.com.; 3. Omenya, A. Sodium-Ion Battery Development. DOEOE Peer Review 2024.; 4. Lee, J. Low Cost Sodium-Ion Battery to Enable Grid Scale Energy Storage: Prussian Blue-Derived Cathode and Complete Battery Integration; 2013.

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