Electrolyte additives represent a powerful yet often underexplored avenue for improving the performance of both traditional and next-generation battery technologies. By incorporating simple yet highly effective ingredients into the electrolyte, significant gains can be achieved in battery lifetime, efficiency, and capacity. In this talk, we will explore the critical role that electrolyte optimization plays in advancing battery performance. Octet, a leader in battery chemistry innovation, specializes in identifying, developing, and scaling up tailored electrolyte solutions to meet diverse customer needs. We will highlight key case studies and share insights into how the right electrolyte chemistry can unlock unprecedented battery potential.

Despite the impressive cycle life observed in halide-based batteries under high stack pressures or at elevated temperatures, poor cathode–electrolyte stabilities still pose a significant challenge that results in rapid capacity decay under low pressure. In this talk, I will present strategies to improve the interfacial instability in halide-based solid-state batteries, addressing both the chemical, electrochemical, and mechanical origins of these instabilities at the cathode–electrolyte interfaces. At optimized condition, we also demonstrate stable cycling of solid-state cells using lithium metal anode for 1000 cycles at room temperature.

The green processing of lithium rechargeable battery electrodes, without using NMP solvents and PFAS materials, is essential for sustainable battery manufacturing. Electrode binders play a crucial role, providing cohesion among particles and adhesion to current collectors while accommodating volume changes during charging and discharging. CMC/SBR binders are emerging as eco-friendly alternatives to PVDF, showing superior performance and lower costs. Meanwhile, silicon-based anodes offer high capacity but face challenges like volume changes and stability. Innovative conductive polymers are being developed to enhance electrode performance, facilitating eco-friendly processing and improving battery longevity.

This presentation will go into the latest regulations for micromobility and their batteries, as well as the safety concerns of aftermarket batteries (whitepaper issued by UL Solutions in 2024) and its intersection with product safety.

Within the medical device market, lithium-ion batteries power everything from miniature implantable products to large hospital capital equipment. Delivering the utmost safety and reliability to our patients requires a unique focus on requirements and a clear understanding of the use conditions. Here, we will examine how some of these aspects influence the design and use of lithium-ion cells and packs in medical devices. 

The global smart home security camera market is increasing year-over-year, and has reached over $7 billion in 2022. Meanwhile, battery replacement regulations and evolving customer expectations mean that batteries in many consumer electronics will have to be easily accessible and replaceable by the end-user. This adds complexity and challenges for product safety and reliability, especially in outdoor products. This talk shares a customer-centric approach to addressing these challenges.

Li-ion batteries are used in many products. While always full-charging and fast-charging gives users psychological safety, batteries degrade more quickly. Today’s “if-then” based adaptive charging automatically reduces charging level and charging speed. This may lead to battery longevity extension as long as user’s usage pattern matches “if-then” conditions. There is an opportunity of further longevity extension by considering each user’s unique usage pattern and automatically customizing the algorithm by machine-learning and deep-learning. This session explains context-based charging, a machine-learning/deep-learning hybrid algorithm, that extends battery longevity even further. Implementation example and application to next generation Li-ion batteries are also explained.

Laboratory testing for mobile computing batteries often struggles to replicate real-world user behavior. Factors like temperature, high voltage, and discharge depth (DoD) significantly affect battery aging. Our analysis shows more cycles are achievable at less than 100% DoD. Field telemetry data also reveals that typical DoDs are much lower than 100%. This talk explores how field data can be used to improve battery testing and more accurately predict real-world aging.

There is an assumption that battery requirements for 3C applications are way easier to meet than for EV or ESS; while true in many regards, there are still some difficult requirements for the newer technologies (think silicon, solid-state) to meet. This talk will review where LCO—and to a lesser extent—NCM are, and where Si and SSB need to be in order to use 3C applications.

This presentation explores innovative battery designs tailored for mixed reality headsets and augmented reality glasses. We examine the unique power demands and spatial constraints of these devices, proposing solutions that enhance energy efficiency, reduce weight, and extend operational lifespan. By integrating advanced materials and smart battery management systems, our research aims to improve user experience and device performance in immersive applications, paving the way for future developments in augmented technologies.

The consumer electronics industry faces growing pressure to enhance battery sustainability. This presentation delves into the challenges and drivers of battery circularity, including closing the raw material supply loop and addressing the scale problem of critical materials like cobalt. Google's initiatives in promoting battery sustainability, such as the use of recycled cobalt, will be highlighted. Furthermore, the presentation will explore key barriers to achieving greater sustainability in consumer electronics and discuss potential solutions for a more circular future.

The primary selling feature for the majority of consumer electronic devices has been runtime. This has necessitated higher energy density batteries to satisfy runtime targets. Although runtime is still a selling feature, the vast majority of consumers never use close to the maximum runtime their device can give them. What are consumers willing to pay for in an advanced battery?