[Steverino]

While there is much interest in a solid state silicone battery for EV's, there may be a hybrid option called Sinanode available from OneD Battery Sciences using silicon nanowires infused into the graphite used in today's lithium ion batteries that results in

• Tripled energy capacity of the anode
• Faster charging speeds
• Greater power
• Reduced graphite
• Lower cost per kWh
• Eliminates silicon expansion (swelling) issues
• Eliminates silicon stability (degradation) issues

Rather than an entirely new battery tech, the process leverages existing supply chains and large scale manufacturing processes for todays' lithium ion batteries by "doping" the base graphite. The patented (240!) process "infuses silicon nanowires directly into the graphite, much like plugging an electrical cord into an outlet. When charged, silicon nanowires remain pliant and do not crack. With hundreds of thousands of wires on each graphite particle, the silicon triples the energy density of the anode."

General Motors Co. and OneD Battery Sciences have announced a new joint research & development agreement to use OneD’s silicon nanotechnology in GM’s Ultium battery cells. GM Ventures and Volta Energy Technologies participated in OneD’s Series C funding round, which the company recently closed at $25 million.

Is it too far of a leap to say this will be used in the "Gen 2" Ultium batteries? I don't think so:

During GM’s CES 2021 keynote presentation video, titled “Inflection Point: Putting Everybody in an EV,” GM Technical Fellow and Lab Group Manager, Mei Cai, stated that the next-generation Ultium batteries will provide a maximum driving range of 500 to 600 miles.

By comparison, the first-generation Ultium batteries are predicted to provide a maximum driving range of 400-450 miles in certain vehicles. Range won’t be the only advantage the second-gen batteries have over the current ones. As GM’s Vice President of Global Product Development, Doug Parks, explained last year, the new batteries will also be much more cost-effective, providing a 60 percent cost improvement over the battery found in the Chevrolet Bolt EV, while also being twice as energy-dense.

Keep in mind, there are certain challenges with silicon-based batteries that have become commercialization obstacles. Silicon tends to swell during the charging cycle, and degrades more rapidly than other materials, and those tendencies will have to be ameliorated before a solid state production battery can be developed. OneD claims its Sinanode silicon nanowire infusion process eliminates the issues of silicon expansion and stability and can be used in today's battery manufacturing plants.

GM Invests in Silicon Battery Tech to Advance Next-Gen Ultium Cells - The Detroit Bureau

SINANODE - OneD Battery Sciences

OneD Battery Sciences

 

[obermd]

Can this technique be reliably and cost effectively scaled to industrial grade and volume manufacturing? This has been the problem with almost all battery "breakthroughs."

 

[Steverino]

Can this technique be reliably and cost effectively scaled to industrial grade and volume manufacturing? This has been the problem with almost all battery "breakthroughs."

Yes, that's the whole point af the above, obermd. This is a change in the existing manufacturing process rather than a breakthrough solid state silicon battery.

 

[obermd]

Yes, that's the whole point af the above, obermd. This is a change in the existing manufacturing process rather than a breakthrough solid state silicon battery.

The problem is that even a change in existing manufacturing processes can lead to failures. The Bolt battery recall was due to a faulty battery anode manufacturing (anode was folded over). There's no guarantee that this can be implemented, but I sure hope it can be as it would set the bar a lot higher for solid state batteries.

 

[Steverino]

The video is very good at explaining what's going on with this process. Towards the end he mentions that there are two OEM's already testing (the interview is from a year ago) and should have initial results by about now. This jives with GM's Gen 2 announcements so far for a mid-decade release (2024 or 2025-ish). He talks about being able to use different formulations some for low cost but 300-ish range batteries say for a $30k-ish Equinox, while other formulations could support longer range and/or faster charging for something like a Cadillac.

On the YT channel, a lot of comments where "wait until Tesla gets ahold of this they will blow everyone else away". I guess few know that GM is an investor in the company and already has an R&D agreement to develop and use this process in its Ultium cells.... GM is the Rodney Dangerfield stealth EV maker at this point but that will change.

 

[Evan1]

The video is very good at explaining what's going on with this process. Towards the end he mentions that there are two OEM's already testing (the interview is from a year ago) and should have initial results by about now. This jives with GM's Gen 2 announcements so far for a mid-decade release (2024 or 2025-ish). He talks about being able to use different formulations some for low cost but 300-ish range batteries say for a $30k-ish Equinox, while other formulations could support longer range and/or faster charging for something like a Cadillac.

On the YT channel, a lot of comments where "wait until Tesla gets ahold of this they will blow everyone else away". I guess few know that GM is an investor in the company and already has an R&D agreement to develop and use this process in its Ultium cells.... GM is the Rodney Dangerfield stealth EV maker at this point but that will change.