Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Jing Gao

Brian James Koch

Gayatri Vyas Dadheech

Alfred Zhang

Xingcheng Xiao

Mark William Verbrugge

Alok Warey

Zhe Li

Dave G Rich

Yucong Wang

Jason A Graetz

James R Salvador

Chia-Ming Chang

Scott E Parrish

Robert D Schmidt

Daniel J Wilson

Robert S Conell

Wei Zeng

Garrett M Seeman

Jeffrey S Piasecki

Yanyan Zhang

Charles Weldon Wampler, Ii

Souren Soukiazian

Justin Bunnell

Taylor R Garrick

Daniel M Zehnder

Patrick J Webb

Michael A Lelli

Justin R McDade

Jeffrey A Bednar

Xiumei Guo

A system for detecting a lithium dendrite in a battery cell is provided. The system includes the battery cell including an anode and a cathode. The battery cell further includes a conductive prewarning layer disposed between the anode and the cathode and constructed with a porous material. The battery cell further includes a separator layer disposed between the conductive prewarning layer and the cathode, wherein the separator layer is configured for allowing ions to pass through the separator layer. The system further includes a sensor electrically connected to the anode and the conductive prewarning layer and monitoring data related to a voltage potential between the anode and the conductive prewarning layer. The data is useful to identify a decrease in the voltage potential between the anode and the conductive prewarning layer and diagnose existence of the lithium dendrite.

System and method for detecting a lithium dendrite in a battery cell

Presented are electrochemical devices with in-stack pressure sensors, methods for making/using such devices, and battery cells with electrode stacks having an electrode separator assembly with a piezoelectric layer for in-stack pressure sensing and dendrite cleaning. An electrochemical device, such as a lithium-class secondary battery cell for example, includes a device housing with an ion-conducting electrolyte located inside the device housing. A stack of working electrodes is also located inside the device housing, in electrochemical contact with the electrolyte. At least one electrode separator assembly is located inside the device housing, interposed between a neighboring pair of the working electrodes. The electrode separator assembly includes a pair of separator layers that transmit therethrough the ions of the electrolyte, and a piezoelectric layer that is interposed between the two separator layers. The piezoelectric layer outputs an electrical signal in response to deformation of one or both of the neighboring working electrodes.

Electrode separator with piezoelectric layer for in-stack pressure sensing and dendrite cleaning

The concepts herein provide a method and associated system for charging a battery, such as a vehicle battery that is part of a propulsion system. The method includes determining a charging current profile for a lithium metal anode of the battery, determining an increasing current charging protocol based upon the charging current profile and charging the battery based upon the increasing current charging protocol.

Method and system for charging a lithium metal battery

Presented are electrochemical devices with in-stack sensor arrays, methods for making/using such electrochemical devices, and lithium-class battery cells with stacked electrode assemblies having in-stack sensor arrays. An electrochemical device includes a device housing that stores an electrolyte composition for conducting ions. An electrode stack, which is located inside the device housing in electrochemical contact with the electrolyte, includes at least two working electrodes. An electrically insulating and ionically transmissive separator is interposed between each neighboring pair of working electrodes. A reference electrode is attached to one side of the separator and connected to multiple electrical sensing devices. Multiple electrical sensing leads are attached to another side of the separator, opposite the reference electrode, with each abutting a discrete region of a working electrode and each connecting to one of the sensing devices to transmit thereto electrical signals indicative of an electrical characteristic (e.g., voltage) of the discrete region it contacts.

Electrochemical systems, methods, and devices using stacked electrode assemblies with in-stack sensor arrays

Presented are electrochemical devices with in-stack reference electrodes, methods for making/using such devices, and battery cells with stacked electrodes segregated by electrode separator assemblies including thermal barriers and built-in reference electrodes. An electrochemical device, such as a lithium-class secondary battery cell, includes an insulated and sealed housing with an ion-conducting electrolyte located inside the housing. A stack of working electrodes is also located inside the device housing, in electrochemical contact with the electrolyte. At least one electrode separator assembly is located inside the device housing, interposed between a neighboring pair of (anode and cathode) working electrodes. The electrode separator assembly includes a separator layer fabricated with an electrically insulating material that is sufficiently porous to transmit therethrough the ions of the electrolyte. An electrically conductive current collector (CC) layer, a thermally insulating thermal barrier (TB) layer, and an active electrode reference electrode (RE) layer are attached to the separator layer.

Multifunctional electrode separator assemblies with built-in reference electrodes and thermal enhancements

A battery cell includes an anode, a cathode, a liquid electrolyte, and a battery cell case. The battery cell case is configured to house the anode, the cathode, and the liquid electrolyte and includes a case interior wall arranged proximate one of the anode and the cathode, a battery case ceiling, and a battery case floor catching and collecting the liquid electrolyte due to force of gravity. The case interior wall defines a pattern of surface tension varying between hydrophobic and hydrophilic along the case interior wall between the battery case floor and the battery cell ceiling. The pattern of surface tension thereby facilitates self-propulsion of the liquid electrolyte in opposition to the force of gravity and a predetermined distribution of the liquid electrolyte along the battery cell wall.

Battery cell enclosure with anti-gravity electrolyte distribution

A system for inspecting a battery component includes a heating device configured to heat a surface of the battery component to a selected temperature, an optical-visible imaging device configured to take an optical image of the surface, a thermal imaging device configured to take a thermal image of the surface, and a processor configured to acquire the optical image and the thermal image. The processor is configured to correlate the thermal image with the optical image, identify a feature of interest in at least one of the optical image and the thermal image, determine a geometric characteristic and a temperature characteristic associated with the feature of interest, and determine whether the feature of interest is a defect based on the geometric characteristic and the temperature characteristic.

Battery component inspection based on optical and thermal imaging

A monitoring assembly for an electrochemical cell of a secondary lithium battery includes a porous sensory structure and a transducer. The porous sensory structure includes a sensory layer disposed on a major surface of a porous separator and a buffer layer disposed between the sensory layer and a facing surface of a negative electrode layer. The buffer layer electrically isolates the sensory layer from the facing surface of the negative electrode layer. The sensory layer includes an electrically conductive material and is configured to produce a response to an input signal or to a physical stimulus received within the electrochemical cell. The transducer is configured to process the response produced by the sensory layer to generate an output signal indicative of a diagnostic condition within the electrochemical cell.

Electrochemical cell monitoring assembly

A method of making a reference electrode assembly for an electrochemical cell according to various aspects of the present disclosure includes providing a subassembly including a separator layer and a current collector layer coupled to the separator layer. The method further includes providing an electrode ink including an electroactive material, a binder, and a solvent. The method further includes creating a reference electrode precursor by applying an electroactive precursor layer to the current collector layer. The electroactive precursor layer covers greater than or equal to about 90% of a superficial surface area of a surface of the current collector layer. The electroactive precursor layer includes the electrode ink. The method further includes creating the reference electrode assembly by drying the electroactive precursor layer to remove at least a portion of the solvent, thereby forming an electroactive layer. The electroactive layer is solid and porous.

Thin-film reference electrodes, electrochemical devices including thin-film reference electrodes, and methods of making thin-film reference electrodes

A method of reforming a negative electrode layer of a secondary lithium battery may include execution of a reforming cycle that reforms a major facing surface of the negative electrode layer by eliminating at least a portion of a lithium dendrite or other lithium-containing surface irregularity that has formed on the major facing surface of the negative electrode layer.

Surface reforming of negative electrode layers

A reference electrode assembly for an electrochemical cell of a secondary lithium ion battery and methods of manufacturing the same. The reference electrode assembly includes a porous membrane having a major surface and a porous reference structure deposited on the major surface of the porous membrane. The porous reference structure includes a porous carbon layer and a porous reference electrode layer that at least partially overlaps the porous carbon layer on the major surface of the porous membrane.

Reference electrode assembly and method of manufacturing the same

A vehicle, and a balancing device and method of controlling a state of charge of a reference electrode in a battery. The balancing device includes a measurement circuit and a charging circuit. The measurement circuit is configured to obtain a measurement of a reference voltage of the reference electrode. The charging circuit is configured to adjust the reference voltage based on the measurement. The state of charge of the reference electrode is controlled based on the reference voltage.

Automated reference electrode management

Composite reference electrode substrates and relating methods are provided. The composite reference electrode substrate includes a separator portion and a current collector portion adjacent to the separator portion. A method for forming the reference electrode substrate includes anodizing one or more surfaces of a first side of an aluminum foil so as to form a porous separator portion disposed adjacent to a porous current collector portion. The porous separator portion includes aluminum oxide, and the current collector portion includes the aluminum foil. The separator portion and the current collector portion each have a porosity of greater than or equal to about 10 vol. % to less than or equal to about 80 vol. %.

Composite reference electrode substrate and methods relating thereto

A method for battery capacity estimation is provided. The method includes monitoring a sensor, collecting a plurality of data points including a voltage-based state of charge value and an integrated current value, defining within the data points a first data set collected during a first time period and a second data set collected during a second time period, determining an integrated current error related to the second data set, comparing the integrated current error related to the second data set to a threshold integrated current error. When the error related to the second data set exceeds the threshold, the method further includes resetting the second data set based upon an integrated current value from the first time period. The method further includes combining the data sets to create a combined data set and determining a voltage slope capacity estimate as a change in integrated current versus voltage-based state of charge.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MI, United States of America

Jing Gao