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Molecular Foundry

HIGHLIGHTSOmics-enabled understanding of electric aircraft battery electrolytes
May 20, 2024

Scientific Achievement

A data-driven omics workflow for mapping electrolyte design space and interphase complexity and evolution to specific compositions that minimize impedance rise, cell degradation, and power fade during aircraft missions.

Foundry staff and users developed a data-driven omics approach to study the structure, function, and evolution of battery interphases to enable high power electric aircraft batteries.

Significance and Impact

Omics identified how specific mixtures of salts in locally superconcentrated electrolytes prevent corrosion and cracking of high voltage cathode particles, improving performance.

Research Details

  • Low LiF and high organofluoroethers in the cathode–electrolyte interphase (CEI) improve performance in Li–NMC811 cells by forming a protective coating on cathode particles, making them far more resistant to corrosion.
  • Pouch cells (130 mAh) assembled with 50-μm-thick Li foil, semi-solid NMC811 electrodes (9 mAh cm−2), and lean electrolyte (2.2 Ah g−1) showed excellent power retention over more than 100 cycles using a realistic mission for electric vertical take-off and landing.
Ko, Y., Baird, M.A., Peng, X., Ogunfunmi, T., Byeon, Y-W., Klivansky, L.M., Haegyeom, K, Scott, M.C., Chen, J., D’Angelo, A.J., Chen, J., Sripad, S., Viswanathan, V., Helms, B.A. Joule. (2024) DOI:10.1016/j.joule.2024.05.013

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