Engineering news
Coin-style cells of StoreDot’s extreme fast charging (XFC) battery will be charged and discharged hundreds of times over two weeks during experiments onboard the International Space Station.
Results from the experiment, carried out as part of the Israel Space Agency and the Ramon Foundation’s Rakia mission in February 2022, could give new insights into the chemical reactions that cause silicon to expand during fast charging. Zero-gravity conditions are expected to help identify irregularities in the surface of the silicon-dominant anode.
Data will be collected by a computer contained within an enclosed experimental unit. The battery will also be examined back on Earth to find if there were any physical or chemical changes in zero-gravity.
Findings from the research, funded by the Israel Electric Company, will be incorporated into the first engineering samples of StoreDot’s silicon-dominant anode XFC battery for EVs, which will be available for testing by the end of 2022. The results are expected to help bring energy density and cycle life into line with the requirements of EV manufacturers.
“This will be the first time XFC has been tested in the zero-gravity conditions of space, and we believe the results could be absolutely game-changing,” said Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot. “Not only in terms of advancing XFC technology, but also, potentially, by opening up entirely new avenues in materials research that will have implications that extend far beyond the battery industry.”
StoreDot achieved its fast charge times primarily by replacing graphite in the cells' anode with metalloid nano-particles – such as silicon – to overcome major issues in safety, cycle life and cell swelling during charging.
“As this is something that has never been done before it’s difficult to know exactly what we will discover, but the methodology of analysing reactions in space has huge potential and will enable us to discover things that simply would not be possible on Earth… helping to accelerate the transition to clean electric mobility through the development of advanced lithium-ion batteries, but also potentially opening up entirely new avenues for material research that can support the development of other transformative industries – from healthcare and renewable energy to utilities and chemicals,” said Myersdorf.
In 2019 Israeli firm StoreDot used a small cell design of its XFC technology to demonstrate the world’s first full charge of a two-wheeled EV in five minutes. It launched engineering samples of its small form factor battery in January 2021, and has also demonstrated five-minute charging of a drone.
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