Next-Generation Battery Chemistries

Particle size distribution (PSD) is more than a material specification in all-solid-state batteries; it links solid-state electrolyte (SSE) chemistry with wet processing, manufacturability, and cell performance. This talk will explore modeling, generative AI, and inverse-design approaches for optimizing PSDs and SSE property windows. Particular emphasis will be placed on compatibility between active-material and electrolyte particle populations and on translating processing, cell-performance, and customer requirements into particle-level design targets. These approaches can support manufacturing robustness, reduce experimental search space, and accelerate development of scalable SSE products.

Lithium-sulfur and sodium-sulfur batteries are appealing due to the high abundance and low cost of sulfur and sodium that can ease supply-chain challenges. However, their commercialization is hampered by polysulfide dissolution and shuttling between the two electrodes. One way to overcome this persistent challenge is to replace liquid electrolytes with a solid-state electrolyte. This presentation will focus on the design of sulfur cathode architectures and lithium-rich alloy anodes with an operating voltage similar to that of lithium metal that enable solid-state cells with high sulfur utilization, fast reaction kinetics, high capacity, and long cycle life at low stack pressures.

The next generation of energy storage is being driven by breakthrough solid-state battery technology that overcomes the fundamental limitations of conventional lithium-ion batteries, enabling longer range, faster charging, and enhanced safety through advanced ceramic separator technology. The current challenge facing those developing this technology is commercialization at a global scale to meet the massive global battery demand. This presentation addresses the unique commercialization strategies to bring this technology to market.

X-Ray microscopy enables the direct visualization of internal structures nondestructively in 3D. Tomography and laminography are two methods for measuring 3D images for different sample geometries. We will present our latest results using lab- and synchrotron-based X-ray tomography and laminography to study how different processing parameters modify the architecture of catholytes and solid electrolytes such as the distribution of active material, density or pore volume, and cathode particle fracturing.

Engineering interfaces remain one of the central challenges in realizing the full potential of all-solid-state batteries. This presentation describes a collaborative approach between SandboxAQ and Solid Power, combining advanced atomistic modeling, machine-learned interatomic potentials, and materials design to engineer chemically stable, ionically-conductive interfaces/interphases. We present AQVolt26 as a foundation for accelerating interface optimization to support commercially ready solid-state electrolyte architectures.

Thermally stable sodium-ion chemistry offers benefits that extend beyond the cell. It creates an opportunity to rethink the grid storage system. Built around an NFPP cathode and hard carbon anode, Peak Energy’s system eliminates active cooling components and associated failure modes, simplifying thermal management, safety design, and permitting. These advantages improve reliability and reduce project costs and total cost of ownership, delivering compelling economics before further cell cost reductions.

Solid-state lithium batteries promise two things: safety and energy density. On safety, aqueous chemistry remains the gold standard; some 20 to 25 million NiMH hybrids have shipped since 1997 without a reported field fire. But water's narrow stability window caps aqueous cells near 80 Wh/kg, while Li-ion's energy density comes with flammable electrolytes. PolyPlus' aqueous Li-ion/sulfur grid battery bridges the two: LATP ceramic decouples lithium-based anodes from aqueous catholytes, delivering lithium voltage with water-based safety. Sulfur is sourced from waste H2S, and dissolved lithium is recovered by simple precipitation, driving active-material cost toward zero and enabling lithium leasing rather than consumption.

This presentation highlights the advantages of vertical extrusion for continuous manufacturing of dry components, including optimized material flow, precise temperature control, flexible multi-zone dosing, and enhanced mixing performance. It also demonstrates reductions in both capital and operating costs through a much smaller dry room footprint and reduced waste. It will also outline ongoing research for optimizing anode dry coating and separator production while advancing the understanding of polymer–active material interactions.

The Vehicle Technologies Office (US DoE) has established a consortium of six national laboratories to address the challenges of enabling sustainable cathode technologies. This consortium is focusing efforts across a wide range of materials and technology readiness levels. In this presentation, we will discuss ongoing efforts within the program aimed at the design, synthesis, and characterization of Mn-rich cathodes as alternative, next-generation materials.

Interphases are essential for reversibility of rechargeable batteries while their stability and properties are determinant to long-term cell performance. To this end, it is very challenging to establish stable interphases for lithium metal batteries (LMBs). In searching for solutions, we uniquely constructed artificial solid electrolyte interphases of ion-conducting polymers for lithium anodes and artificial cathode electrolyte interphases of oxygen-scavenging sulfides for cathodes. They are compatible and complementary for high-performance LMBs.

Traditional battery characterization methods rely on ensemble averaging, obscuring the local solvation, de-solvation, and transport dynamics of individual ions at liquid-solid interfaces. We introduce an operando optical platform using fluorescent defects in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as single-ion sensors to track ionic behavior in real time with millisecond temporal resolution. By measuring ion-induced spectral shifts, this method directly probes local solvation structures and interfacial electrodynamics vital for next-generation battery chemistries.

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft place extreme demands on batteries: high specific energy, high power for hover and landing, fast charging, and uncompromising safety. This talk reviews chemistries, design trade-offs, certification requirements, and pathways to viable eVTOL batteries.

No single chemistry is positioned to replace lithium-ion across electric vehicles, stationary storage, and specialized applications by 2030. This presentation compares advances in lithium-ion cells with sodium-ion, lithium-sulfur, and lithium-metal or solid-state batteries against application requirements, manufacturing readiness, qualification evidence, and system economics. It identifies each pathway’s most credible first markets, where improving incumbent cells remains difficult to beat, and the evidence needed to substantiate commercial claims.