Storedot Ltd.

Leonid Krasovitsky

Daniel Aronov

Liron Amir

Olga Guchok

Doron Burshtain

Vladimir Seleznyov

Leonid Spindler

Maxim Liberman

Vadim Sabayev

Ron Paz

Yaniv Damtov

Ekaterina Gotlib Vainshtein

Assaf Grunwald

Alan Weisleder

Zohar Drach

Ohad Goldbart

Zvi Ioffe

Simon Litsyn

Dmitry Voyevodin

Methods of managing a lithium ion battery and of recovering branches and/or cells in the battery are provided, as well as battery management systems (BMS) and batteries implementing the methods. Branches and/or cells may be recovered by slow and deep discharging, followed by slow charging&#x2014;to increase capacity, cycling lifetime and/or enhance safety thereof. BMSs may be configured to diagnose defective branches and/or cells and manage the recovery procedure with respect to changing operational loads the battery and the available internal and external charging sources.

Recovering defective branches and/or cells of battery packs by deep discharges

Lithium ion batteries and cells, as well as operating and testing methods are provided, which utilize a transparent pouch to monitor the battery in operational condition and/or in operation. Transparent parts of the pouch may be used for direct sensing of cell elements. Removable covers may be used to protect battery components from illumination damage. Indicators in the transparent pouch may be associated with cell components such as electrodes and electrolyte to indicate their condition. External sensors may be used to derive data from the indicators, and bi-directional electromagnetic (e.g., optical) communication may be established through the transparent pouch, to enhance monitoring and spare physical electrical connections. For example, the transparent pouch may be used to monitor and enhance battery safety and/or to modify operational parameters non-destructively, during operation of the battery.

Optical communication through transparent pouches of lithium ion batteries

Methods and systems are provided for estimating and extending the expected cell cycling lifetime for produced lithium ion cells. Methods comprise monitoring charging and/or discharging peak(s) during formation cycles of the cells, which are defined with respect to dQ/dV measurements during the formation cycles, and ending the formation process once the charging and/or discharging peaks disappear, optionally deriving the expected cell cycling lifetime by comparing the monitored peaks to specified thresholds that are correlated to the lifetime. The methods may be implemented by controller(s) at the battery, device and/or factory levels, which may be operated in combination. Formation processes and/or cell operation schemes may be adjusted accordingly, to avoid excessive dQ/dV rates and increase thereby the cell cycling lifetime.

Using formation parameters to extend the cycling lifetime of lithium ion batteries

The present invention discloses systems and methods for adaptive fast-charging for mobile devices and devices having sporadic power-source connection. Methods include the steps of: firstly determining whether a supercapacitor of a device is charged; upon detecting the supercapacitor is charged, secondly determining whether a battery of the device is charged; and upon detecting the battery is not charged, firstly charging the battery from the supercapacitor. Preferably, the step of firstly determining includes whether the supercapacitor is partially charged, and the step of secondly determining includes whether the battery is partially charged. Preferably, the step of firstly charging is adaptively regulated to perform a task selected from the group consisting of: preserving a lifetime of the battery by controlling a current to the battery, and discharging the supercapacitor in order to charge the battery. Preferably, the discharging enables the supercapacitor to be subsequently recharged.

Systems and methods for adaptive fast-charging for mobile devices and devices having sporadic power-source connection

Methods, systems and battery modules are provided, which increase the cycling lifetime of fast charging lithium ion batteries. During the formation process, the charging currents are adjusted to optimize the cell formation, possibly according to the characteristics of the formation process itself, and discharge extents are partial and optimized as well, as is the overall structure of the formation process. During operation, voltage ranges are initially set to be narrow, and are broadened upon battery deterioration to maximize the overall lifetime. Current adjustments are applied in operation as well, with respect to the deteriorating capacity of the battery. Various formation and operation strategies are disclosed, as basis for specific optimizations.

Extending cycling lifetime of fast-charging lithium ion batteries

Electrolytes, lithium ion cells and corresponding methods are provided, for extending the cycle life of fast charging lithium ion batteries. The electrolytes are based on fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and/or vinylene carbonate (VC) as the cyclic carbonate component, and possibly on ethyl acetate (EA) and/or ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) as the linear component. Proposed electrolytes extend the cycle life by factors of two or more, as indicated by several complementary measurements.

Carbonate electrolytes for lithium ion batteries

The present invention discloses devices and methods for adaptive fast-charging of mobile devices. Methods include the steps of: firstly determining whether a first connected component is charged; upon firstly determining the first connected component isn't charged, secondly determining whether the first connected component is adapted for rapid charging; and upon secondly determining the first connected component is adapted for rapid charging, firstly charging the first connected component at a high charging rate via a charging device. Preferably, the charging device is selected from the group consisting of: a rapid charger and a slave battery. Preferably, the first connected component is selected from the group consisting of: a mobile device and a slave battery. Preferably, the high charging rate is selected from the group consisting of: greater than about 4 C, greater than about 5 C, greater than about 10 C, greater than about 20 C, greater than about 30 C, and greater than about 60 C.

Devices and methods for adaptive fast-charging of mobile devices

Formation method for preparing a fast-charging lithium ion cell

Lithium ion batteries and cells, as well as operating and testing methods are provided, which utilize a transparent pouch to monitor the battery in operational condition and/or in operation. Covers may be used to prevent illumination of battery components when testing is not required, and the covers may be removed or have modifiable transparency configured to enable visual monitoring. Indicators in the transparent pouch may be associated with cell components such as electrodes and electrolyte to indicate their condition. For example, the transparent pouch may be used to monitor battery safety, e.g., by enabling to monitor lithium metallization on an anode (directly or via indicators), monitor battery lifetime and other operational parameters, without having to damage the battery.

Lithium ion batteries having transparent pouches

Fast-charging lithium ion batterie unit

An anode material for a lithium ion device includes an active material including silicon nanoparticles and boron carbide nanoparticles. The boron carbide nanoparticles are at least one order of magnitude smaller than the silicon nanoparticles. The weight percentage of the silicon is between about 4 to 35 weight % of the total weight of the anode material and the weight percentage of the boron carbide is between about 2.5 to about 25.6% of the total weight of the anode material. The active material may include carbon at a weight percentage of between 5 to about 60 weight % of the total weight of the anode material. Additional materials, methods of making and devices are taught.

Anodes for lithium-ion devices

Electrolytes for lithium ion batteries

Increasing cycling lifetime of fast-charging lithium ion batteries

Methods for manufacturing multi-functional electrode (MFE) devices for fast-charging of energy-storage devices are provided. The method includes assembling first MFE structure for forming a suitable electrochemical half-couple, the first MFE structure having a first fast-charging component (FCC) and a first MFE assembly and a counter-electrode structure for forming a complementary electrochemical half-couple and supplying an internal voltage controller (IVC) for applying a bias potential to the first MFE structure and/or the counter-electrode structure, the bias potential is set in accordance with the first MFE structure and said counter-electrode structure. The IVC is configured to regulate an intra-electrode potential gradient between the first FCC and the first MFE assembly to control a charge rate from the first FCC to the first MFE assembly.

Growing community of inventors

Rishon Letzion, Israel

Leonid Krasovitsky