Combining its unique 3D graphene sulfur host with several advanced cell components, Lyten is developing next-generation Li-S cells with higher specific energy than Li-ion batteries. Lyten has begun manufacturing commercial cylindrical and pouch cells on semi-automatic assembly lines. We will present the performance of these cells and outline our roadmap for advancing Lyten’s low-cost, high-energy, and green Li-S technology for EVs.

Lithium-sulfur batteries offer tremendous advantages in terms of cost and energy density compared to lithium-ion batteries. However, the commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries is hampered by the poor cycle life and low energy density of practical cells. These challenges originate from the poor electronic and lithium-ion conductivity of sulfur and its discharged products, polysulfide shuttle, and poor cyclability of lithium-metal anode. To overcome these challenges, this presentation will focus on electrocatalyst-integrated sulfur or Li2S cathodes to enhance the electrochemical utilization as well as incorporation of additives into the cathode or electrolyte to stabilize lithium-metal plating and stripping, while maintaining the sulfur loading high and electrolyte/sulfur ratio low. The underlying mechanisms involved in the drastic improvement in performance will be explained based on the results obtained with in-depth characterization methodologies, such as in-situ x-ray diffraction, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Zeta Energy's technology has effectively addressed the primary issues preventing the commercialization of lithium-sulfur (LiS) batteries: dendrite formation and sulfur loss due to the polysulfide shuttle. This presentation will offer a comprehensive insight into our advanced anode and cathode technologies, showing how their synergy results in high-performance cells that fully leverage the inherent benefits of low-cost, sustainable, and accessible energy storage solutions.

Theion, a Berlin-based battery start-up, has developed a unique, direct crystal imprinting process for the fabrication of monoclinic, monolithic sulfur crystal wafer cathode comprising of more than 92 weight% of active sulfur, offering an areal capacity of higher than12 mAh cm-2  along with polysulfide eliminating proprietary coating. In addition, Theion’s lithium metal host anode demonstrates the possibility of charging a battery at a C-rate of 20C (=71 mA cm-2) compared to conventional SoA cathodes. Together with the proprietary cathode and prelithiated lithium metal host anode, the resulting battery is capable of reaching gravimetric energy density of 1000 Wh kg-1 and high cycle life.

Elemental sulfur (S) is one of the most interesting materials amongst all conversion-based cathodes because of its high theoretical capacity (~1675 mAh/g – 5-10-fold higher than Li-ion batteries), natural abundance, non-toxicity, and cost-effectiveness.  In this talk, I will present our group’s research on integrating material design and fabrication, in-operando and postmortem spectroscopy, and device assembly and testing (coin/pouch) to study and develop next generation lithium-sulfur batteries. I will discuss representative projects on studying cathode, anode, and electrolyte chemistries to mitigate challenges such as the polysulfide shuttle, low S/Li2S conductivity, and lithium dendrites.

Sulfidic solid state electrolytes enable the efficient solid-solid conversion of sulfur and suppress any polysulfide diffusion in solid state Li-S cells. The cathode structure and the role of carbon materials have been studied in detail for this cell type. Optimized materials and composite structures enable a reversible specific capacity of > 1.600 mAh/g-sulfur at very low electrolyte content. Dry coating has been demonstrated to be an efficient and scalable technology for the composite cathode and separator processing. Further, high energy Li-S cells were built and evaluated utilizing a semi-solid concept. Based on those results, the talk will cover recent progress in materials, processes, and cell design for solid state Li-S batteries.

Zeta Energy developed a novel Li-Sulfur battery technology which allows for smooth scaling up and cutting the traditional supply chains. Process optimizations in the early stage of the product development drives manufacturing choices early on, which only Zeta's Li-S technology enables. Source local and produce local, while the market demand drives production location decision, in either North America or the EU or both. Local supply chains do support this strategy. Driving for low cost solutions for each process step, thinking outside the pouch, Zeta innovation—applying inventions from other industries to Zeta's technology and CO2 reductions—doable!

The potential of lithium-sulfur battery technology to contribute to the energy transition is compelling. For this potential to be realized, the high energy-density and abundance of sulfur cathodes must be matched by improved longevity and safety at cell level. In this pursuit, Gelion is refining a path originally prospected by OXIS Energy to overcome the key challenges of lithium sulfur batteries.

Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been the subject of R&D for over 50 years with relatively few successes in the marketplace. However, in the last ~10years there has been a resurgence of interest due to the promise of extremely low-cost and high-performance energy storage, and the potential to benefit from the ongoing “renaissance” in Li-metal anode technologies. Li-S also avoids many issues related to scale and supply chain when compared to alternative emerging technologies. Despite these advantages, R&D has lagged and performance still falls short of power and cycle life required for mass market adoption in electromobility applications. Li-S technology will be presented holistically starting with fundamental chemistry through cell design and engineering. The presentation will close with discussion on recent approaches to mitigating the hurdles of Li-S as well as Conamix’s technology portfolio for driving performance while keeping the focus on low-cost and scalability.