PARC, a Xerox company, is collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Ford in a DOE-funded project that will use PARC’s CoEx printing technology to fabricate higher energy and higher power electrodes for EV batteries.

The goal of the project is to demonstrate pilot-scale pouch cells with a 20% improvement in gravimetric energy density and a 30% reduction in per-kWh costs.

CoEx is a co-extrusion printing technique that allows dissimilar materials to be deposited side by side at high speed. When applied to thick battery electrodes, it adds a new design dimension that can be used to enhance energy and power performance.

PARC will develop the inks and hardware required to fabricate high-energy and high-power cathodes. ORNL will assist PARC to develop matching anodes and to optimize electrochemical performance in automotive pouch cells.

“CoEx has the potential to make higher-capacity EV batteries possible through the creation of two- and three-dimensional structures, which can enhance lithium-ion pathways in ultra-thick battery electrodes,” said PARC CoEx Technical Lead Dr. Corie Cobb. “Our goal is to fabricate EV pouch cells that are higher in energy and power than conventional cells.”

“PARC and ORNL have a track record of working successfully together, and their collaboration on this project will transform the way lithium-ion electrode coatings are made and perform under high discharge rates,” said ORNL Project Lead David Wood.

Source: PARC via Green Car Congress