International materials company Ilika, a developer of solid-state batteries, is taking part in a three-year project, led by Johnson Matthey, to develop protected anodes for lithium-sulfur batteries.

The project will take advantage of Ilika’s high-throughput materials development technique to discover new electrolyte composition options and fabricate a free-standing, lithium-containing protected anode/separator for integration into pouch cells.

The novel protected anode will mitigate a commonly experienced problem in lithium-sulfur cells: the polysulfide shuttle effect. The pouch cells being developed are intended for large-scale renewable energy storage, and therefore address a distinct market segment to the Internet of Things applications for which Ilika’s Stereax batteries are designed.

The Ilika Stereax roadmap focuses on miniaturization, capacity in a small footprint, and increased performance. The capacity roadmap increases the amount of energy for a given footprint by using Ilika’s stacking feature, which allows multiple cells to be stacked on top of one another.

According to Ilika, its Stereax batteries offer up to 40% more energy density per battery footprint, compared to current solid-state solutions, as well as temperature range support to over 100° C, 30° higher than existing solid-state products.

“This project brings together scientists and industrial partners with the resources, skills and experience to deliver and exploit this new concept,” said Ilika CEO Graeme Purdy. “The partners have the know-how to design and develop new battery components and take them through to roll to roll electrode fabrication and pouch cell manufacture and evaluation.”

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Source: Ilika via Green Car Congress