Ceramics UK 2019 presentation

1. www.morganadvancedmaterials.com
Richard Clark – Global Lead, Energy Storage
Morgan Advanced Materials
richard.clark@morganplc.com
The Faraday Battery Challenge –
Challenges and Solutions

2. Morgan Advanced Materials (LON: MGAM)
Global Business Units
Thermal Ceramics
Molten Metal Systems
Electrical Carbon
Seals and Bearings
Technical CeramicsFounded in 1856 by the Morgan
brothers to manufacture the
world’s best (clay-graphite) crucibles
Public Limited Company since 1890
London Stock Exchange since 1946
Approximately 8,800 employees
Manufacturing in over 30 countries
Selling into more than 100 countries
2018 revenue GBP1.03 billion
2019: Leaders in Advanced Materials
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“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

3. The Faraday Battery Challenge and Morgan
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Morgan named as prospective industry partner in
four full proposal stage Round 2 projects
Funding for each project (Round 2) is GBP12 million/project (4 years)
Agreement on Faraday funding for supporting
Morgan in-house Solid State Electrolyte (SSE) work
Round 1 projects
Round 2 projects
Morgan industry partner in Round 1 Solid State
Batteries (SOLBAT) program (U. Oxford leading)
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

4. What’s Morgan’s interest in the Faraday Battery Challenge?
• Morgan has expertise in various facets of lithium-ion batteries (LIB)
and in many ceramic processes;
• Huge global investment in LIB and solid-state batteries means
massive competition, so significant investment needed and risk of
failure is relatively high;
• The Faraday Battery Challenge allows us to work with leading
academics in LIB- and solid-state battery-related areas where we
can focus on productionizing processes as they are developed and
also provide feedback on likelihood of success;
• Government funding makes this a viable path forward
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“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

5. Solid-State is favored next-generation, but timing uncertain
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The total solid-state battery opportunity is
projected to reach US$68 billion in 2035, but
won’t exceed US$5 billion total until 2029,
although this can be accelerated if:
• Solid-state achieves true drop-in
functionality with existing manufacturing
processes;
• Solid-state electrolytes enable lower-cost
chemistries;
• High profile battery failures or recalls spur
regulatory requirements for solid-state
“The Solid-State Battery Roadmap”, November 2017, Christopher Robinson, Lux Research; Kian Kerman et al. J. Electrochem. Soc. 2017;164:A1731-A1744, under CC license
An illustration of main cell architectures utilized
in solid state battery research to date
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

6. Advantages and disadvantages of solid-state systems
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Envisioned advantages Comments
Volumetric energy density +30% or higher
Will require use of lithium metal anode
Gravimetric energy density +50 to 70% or higher
Limit dendrite formation - prevent dangerous short circuits Fast charging increases dendrite formation
Chemical and electrochemical stability from 0 to 6 V Not true for all SSEs
Long cycle life Affected by anode choice
Improved safety Eliminating the flammable liquid achieves this
Wide operating temperature range Performance will vary over range
Disadvantages / Challenges
Expensive compared to liquid electrolyte systems
Density much higher than liquid density
Processability – difficult to produce sufficiently thin
Incompatibility with existing manufacturing processes
Reduced ion transport within electrodes
Interface impedance and issues in maintaining contact
Solid-State Systems are
clearly beneficial as
next-generation if they
can enable safe and
efficient use of thin
lithium metal anodes
Modified from Frost Perspectives: “Solid-state Electrolytes – Next-generation Safer Alternative in Li-ion Batteries: October 03, 2017”; “The xEV Industry Insider Report”; M. Anderman, 2018
Solid-State
Electrolyte
Inorganic
Materials
Crystalline
Amorphous
(glass)
Organic
Materials
Polymer
Polymer
Gel
Liquid
electrolyte
Hybrid
(liquid/polymer
in cathode)
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

7. And the winner is…?
Type Manufacturing
processes
Advantages Some challenges
Oxides
(e.g. LLTO, LLZO)
Cold pressing and
sintering; wet-
chemical; glass-
ceramic
High thermodynamic and
electrochemical stability,
easy to handle, can be
processed in air
Comparatively low ionic conductivity;
brittle ceramic; high cathode-electrolyte
interfacial resistance; high synthesis
temperature
Sulphides
(e.g. LGPS, Li7P3S11, LSPS, Li6PS5X,
(X=Cl, Br, I))
Cold pressing,
solution processing
Conductivity comparable
or higher than liquid
electrolyte at RT; low
temperature processing;
scalable synthesis
Toxic gas (hydrogen sulphide)
generation when exposed to moisture
(argyrodites better); highly reactive with
lithium metal (narrow stability window);
high cost of germanium in LGPS
Polymers (combinations of polymers
and lithium salts) (e.g. poly(ethylene
oxide) (PEO) and polyacrylonitrile
(PAN)
Currently only solid-state
commercial production is polymer
Solution/melt
processing
Large electrochemical
stability window (~0 to
4.2V versus Li), good
thermal stability, low
flammability, easy and
scalable processing, low
toxicity, cheap
Low ionic conductivity at room
temperature, low Li+ transference
number (~0.2), poor long-term stability,
including electrochemical, mechanical
and thermal, slow charging needed to
avoid lithium dendrite growth
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General challenges remaining include: thickness of separator layer; use of interlayers to deal with
electrochemical stability; use of lithium metal with long cycle life; ion transport at cathode for true solid-state
“Solid-State Batteries – Solid Electrolytes, Electrode Interfaces and Full Cells”: Jürgen Janek, Tutorial AABC Europe 2019
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

8. Fibres for enhancing polymer performance
• Dispersing ceramic nanoparticles into a polymer matrix increases ionic
conductivity (caused by reduced crystallinity of host) and improves
electrochemical stability and mechanical properties
• Conductivity can be improved further by incorporating random
nanowires into the polymer and still further by aligning the nanowires
• Fibre production processes are well-controlled and highly scalable
• Well-understood manufacturing methods mean cost has already been
addressed
• As well as conductivity and mechanical strength enhancement, fibres
improve high temperature robustness and reduce the formation or
impact of lithium dendrite formation
• Mechanical strength derives from the interface of the matrix with
the fibre
• Fibre type, level of crystallinity and dimensions can be tailored for a
polymer to maximize the impact
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Wei Liu et al, Nano Lett. 2015, 15, 2740-2745; Wei Liu et at, ACS Nano 2016, 10, 11407-11413; Wei Liu et al. Nature Energy 2, 2017, 17035
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

9. Novel fibre polymer composite
• Recently, following the same protocol used for LLZO
nanowires in published work (T. Yang et al.), we fabricated
composite membranes with 5 wt. % of a novel ceramic fibre in
polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with 33 wt. % of LiClO4
• Membranes were pressed between two stainless steel
plates and the EIS analysed over a frequency range of
1 MHz – 10 mHz and a temperature range of 25 – 100°C
• Fibre is melt-formed and lithium silicate-based
• Fabrication process is lower cost than many other material
production processes and is highly scalable
• Cost for material and process would allow US DOE cost
targets to be met when considered within a polymer matrix
or independently as a solid electrolyte
• First patent application published May 22 as GB2568613
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“Composite Polymer Electrolytes with Li7La3Zr2O12 Garnet-Type Nanowires as Ceramic Fillers: Mechanism of Conductivity Enhancement and Role of Doping and Morphology”: T. Yang et al. ACS Appl.
Mater. Interfaces, 2017, 9(26), pp 21773-21780
Comparison between fibre and LLZO of conductivity
vs temperature @5% wt. % loading
(5 wt. % is optimum loading for LLZO at 20°C)
“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

10. Conclusions
• Global flux in automotive supply chain as it transitions from
Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and diesel to more electrified
vehicles;
• Establishment of a full battery supply chain within the UK is of
critical importance as the UK seeks to preserve and expand the
current domestic automotive industry;
• Support from The Faraday Battery Challenge allows companies
like Morgan to get engaged in this rapidly growing field without an
unacceptably high level of funding and risk
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“The Faraday Battery Challenge – Challenges and Solutions” Ceramics UK
July 10, 2019

11. www.morganadvancedmaterials.com
Questions?