Ovonic Battery Company, Inc.

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.

Basf Corporation

The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

Globe-union Inc.

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Johnson Controls Technology Company

Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, LLC

Benjamin Reichman

William C Mays

Michael A Fetcenko

Kwo Young

Stanford R Ovshinsky

Diana F Wong

Benjamin S Chao

James L Strebe

Beth Sommers

John M Koch

Christian Fierro

Martin L Panchula

Krishna Sapru

Jean Nei

Jun Su Im

Srinivasan Venkatesan

Edward N Mrotek

Cristian Fierro

Xue Wu Liu

Avram Zallen

Lixin Wang

Charles E Byvik

Srini Venkatesan

Gao Liang

Hu Chao-Ian

Gary A Yacobian

Allen J Bard

Dennis A Corrigan

Jack Thomas Bender

Fu-Ren F Fan

Taihei Ouchi

Kwo-hsiung Young

Dieter G Von Deak

Binay Prasad

Kenneth Jeffries

Tim Hicks

Arie Reger

Tinoush Dinn

James I Strebe

MengPing Yin

Clifford Bennett

Sharon Stahl

Martin Lawrence Panchula

Provided are processes for extracting nickel and lithium from a Ni/Lisolution. The process for extracting nickel and lithium includes providing a Ni/Lisolution comprising an amount of lithium and an amount of nickel, treating the Ni/Lisolution with an alkaline agent to adjust the pH of the Ni/Lisolution to between about 1.0 to about 10.0, and treating the Ni/Lisolution with a nickel selective extractant, the nickel selective extractant suitable to extract nickel from the Ni/Lisolution at said pH to thereby produce a Lisolution with less than 1000 parts per million Ni. Once complete, the process provides for recoverable nickel and/or lithium that may be recycled into batteries or sold for other uses.

Methods for extracting elements from a solution

Provided are processes for the formation of electrochemically active materials such as lithiated transition metal oxides that solve prior issues with throughput and calcination. The processes include forming the materials in the presence of a processing additive that includes potassium prior to calcination that produces active materials with increased primary particle grain sizes.

Process for producing lithiated transition metal oxides

Provided are processes for the formation of electrochemically active materials such as lithiated transition metal oxides that solve prior issues with throughput and calcination. The processes include forming precursor materials into agglomerates prior to calcination. The use of the agglomerates improves gas flow into and out of the materials thereby improving calcination results, electrochemical properties of the resulting materials, and allows for use of high temperature kilns not previously suitable for such materials thereby lowering production costs.

Certain nickel hydroxide active cathode materials for use in alkaline rechargeable batteries are capable of transferring &#x3e;1.3 electrons per Ni atom under reversible electrochemical conditions. The specific capacity of the nickel hydroxide active materials is for example &#x2265;325 mAh/g. The cathode active materials exhibit an additional discharge plateau near 0.8 V vs. a metal hydride (MH) anode. Ni in an oxidation state of less than 2, such as Ni, is able to participate in electrochemical reactions when using the present cathode active materials. It is possible that up to 2.3 electrons, up to 2.5 electrons or more may be transferred per Ni atom under electrochemical conditions.

Nickel hydroxide positive electrode for alkaline rechargeable battery

Certain nickel hydroxide active cathode materials for use in alkaline rechargeable batteries are capable of transferring &#x3e;1.3 electrons per Ni atom under reversible electrochemical conditions. The specific capacity of the nickel hydroxide active materials is for example &#x2267;325 mAh/g. The cathode active materials exhibit an additional discharge plateau near 0.8 V vs. a metal hydride (MH) anode. Ni in an oxidation state of less than 2, such as Ni, is able to participate in electrochemical reactions when using the present cathode active materials. It is possible that up to 2.3 electrons, up to 2.5 electrons or more may be transferred per Ni atom under electrochemical conditions.

Lithiated composite materials and methods of manufacture are provided that are capable of imparting excellent capacity and greatly improved cycle life in lithium-ion secondary cells. By supplementing a high nickel content lithium storage material with a transition metal oxide lithium storage material or a dopant at relatively low levels, the capacity of the high nickel content lithium storage materials is maintained while cycle life is dramatically improved. These characteristics are promoted by methods of producing the materials that intermix unlithiated precursor materials with a lithium source and sintering the materials together in a single sintering reaction. The resulting lithiated composite materials provide for the first time both high capacity and excellent cycle life to predominantly high nickel content electrodes.

Composite cathode materials having improved cycle life

The performance of an ABtype metal hydride alloy is improved by adding an element to the alloy which element is operative to enhance the surface area morphology of the alloy. The alloy may include surface regions of differing morphologies.

Nanoscale nickel-based catalytic material

A hybrid power cell is provided that combines a nickel-metal hydride battery, solid state hydrogen storage, and alkaline fuel cell technologies in a single cell operating within a targeted intermediate temperature range. A cell includes a cathode that is capable of using raw atmospheric air as an oxygen source and an anode that is capable of reversible electrochemical and gas phase hydrogen storage, where the anode and the cathode are highly functional at intermediate temperatures. The resulting hybrid power cell overcomes prior challenges of reliable high-capacity grid-tied energy storage necessary for greater renewable energy adoption.

Shared electrode hybrid battery-fuel cell system

A multi-phase metal hydride alloy material which is capable of reversibly absorbing and desorbing hydrogen includes a first main phase or group of phases having an ABtype crystalline structure and a second phase which has a concentration of a modifier element therein which is greater than the concentration of the modifier element in the first phase or group of phases. The modifier element functions to promote the formation of the second phase and may comprise a light rare earth element such as yttrium. The first phase or group of phases may incorporate one or more Laves phases such as a C14, C15, and/or C36 phase. Further disclosed are metal hydride batteries including the alloys.

Metal hydride alloys having improved activation and high rate performance

Metal hydride alloy with catalyst particles and channels

A base-facilitated process for producing hydrogen. Hydrogen is produced from a reaction of carbonaceous matter with a base and water, preferably through the formation of a bicarbonate or carbonate by-product. The base-facilitated hydrogen-producing reactions are thermodynamically more spontaneous and are able to produce hydrogen gas at less extreme reaction conditions than conventional reformation or gasification reactions of carbonaceous matter. In another embodiment, the instant reactions permit the production of hydrogen from carbonaceous matter without the production of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. In a preferred embodiment, the carbonaceous matter is coal or a derivative thereof.

Base-facilitated produciton of hydrogen from carbonaceous matter

A low temperature alkaline fuel cell having a hydrogen electrode and an oxygen electrode, both of which are comprised of high performance non-precious metal catalytic materials providing high performance at low temperatures.

Low temperature alkaline fuel cell

A method of producing hydrogen gas from a reaction of carbon monoxide with a base. Hydrogen is produced in a reaction of a base with carbon monoxide that proceeds through the formation of a bicarbonate or carbonate compound as a by-product. In some embodiments, the reaction may occur in the presence of water and may produce carbon dioxide as a by-product. The instant base-facilitated hydrogen-producing reactions are thermodynamically more spontaneous than the water-gas shift reaction and are able to produce hydrogen gas from carbon monoxide at greater reaction rates than is possible with the water-gas shift reaction. Carbon monoxide in a purified or unpurified state or as a component within a mixture of gases is suitable for use in the instant invention. Metal hydroxides are the preferred base reactant. The base reactant can be in the solid phase, molten phase, liquid phase or solution phase.

Production of hydrogen via a base-facilitated reaction of carbon monoxide

Growing community of inventors

West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Benjamin Reichman