Other

Qnovo Inc.

Enervault Corporation

Valence Technology, Inc.

Basvah LLC

On Kok Chang

Dania Ghantous

Ai Quoc Pham

George E Blomgren

Ou Mao

Charles A Lung

M Yazid Saidi

Benjamin M Chaloner-Gill

Joseph T Lundquist

Kimio Kinoshita

David Andrew Sopchak

Eileen S Saidi

Neal Golovin

Sumitha Durairaj

Peter Hallac

Syed Aziz

Quoc Pham

In one aspect, non-invasive methods are described in which combinations of certain battery parameter values are used to identify whether metal plating (e.g., lithium plating) has occurred during charging of a battery. In response to the detection of metal plating and/or conditions associated with metal plating, one or more characteristics of a charge process may be adjusted or adapted to maintain battery parameter values within a specified range. In some cases, after detection of metal plating, a battery charge process may be adjusted or adapted to remove metal plating from a battery's anode by a discharge pulse.

Method of detecting metal plating in intercalation cells

Positive electrodes for secondary batteries formed with a plurality of substantially aligned flakes within a coating. The flakes can be formed from metal oxide materials and have a number average longest dimension of greater than 60 &#x3bc;m. A variety of metal oxide or metal phosphate materials may be selected such as a group consisting of LiCoO, LiMnO, Li(M1M2Co)Owhere M1 and M2 are selected from among Li, Ni, Mn, Cr, Ti, Mg, or Al, 0&#x2266;x1&#x2266;0.5 and 0&#x2266;x2&#x2266;0.5, or alternatively, LiM1MnOwhere 0&#x3c;x&#x3c;0.8 and M1 represents one or more metal elements. Methods for making positive electrode materials are also provided involving the formation of structures with a desired longest dimension, preferably polycrystalline flakes. A cathode coating containing polycrystalline flakes may be deposited onto a conductive substrate and pressed to a desired final electrode thickness.

Lithium secondary batteries with positive electrode compositions and their methods of manufacturing

Loss of flow battery electrode catalyst layers during self-discharge or charge reversal may be prevented by establishing and maintaining a negative electrolyte imbalance during at least parts of a flow battery's operation. Negative imbalance may be established and/or maintained actively, passively or both. Actively establishing a negative imbalance may involve detecting an imbalance that is less negative than a desired threshold, and processing one or both electrolytes until the imbalance reaches a desired negative level. Negative imbalance may be effectively established and maintained passively within a cell by constructing a cell with a negative electrode chamber that is larger than the cell's positive electrode chamber, thereby providing a larger quantity of negative electrolyte for reaction with positive electrolyte.

Operating a redox flow battery with a negative electrolyte imbalance

Methods, systems and structures for monitoring, managing electrolyte concentrations in redox flow batteries are provided by introducing a first quantity of a liquid electrolyte into a first chamber of a test cell and introducing a second quantity of the liquid electrolyte into a second chamber of the test cell. The method further provides for measuring a voltage of the test cell, measuring an elapsed time from the test cell reaching a first voltage until the test cell reaches a second voltage; and determining a degree of imbalance of the liquid electrolyte based on the elapsed time.

Monitoring electrolyte concentrations in redox flow battery systems

Various methods of rebalancing electrolytes in a redox flow battery system include various systems using a catalyzed hydrogen rebalance cell configured to minimize the risk of dissolved catalyst negatively affecting flow battery performance. Some systems described herein reduce the chance of catalyst contamination of RFB electrolytes by employing a mediator solution to eliminate direct contact between the catalyzed membrane and the RFB electrolyte. Other methods use a rebalance cell chemistry that maintains the catalyzed electrode at a potential low enough to prevent the catalyst from dissolving.

Systems and methods for rebalancing redox flow battery electrolytes

Embodiments of redox flow battery rebalancing systems include a system for reacting an unbalanced flow battery electrolyte with a rebalance electrolyte in a first reaction cell. In some embodiments, the rebalance electrolyte may contain ferrous iron (Fe) which may be oxidized to ferric iron (Fe) in the first reaction cell. The reducing ability of the rebalance reactant may be restored in a second rebalance cell that is configured to reduce the ferric iron in the rebalance electrolyte back into ferrous iron through a reaction with metallic iron.

Rebalancing electrolytes in redox flow battery systems

Systems and methods for configuring tabs on a rechargeable battery may include a current collector comprising one or more collector foil and one or more tabs connected to the collector foil for conveying generated current from the current collector. The tabs may be configured to extract greater capacity from the battery electrodes so that the resulting battery may exhibit higher performance. The tabs may be configured so that the length of the tab is greater than the height of the collector foil so the tab may cover the height of the collector foil and may protrude from the foil.

Systems and methods for rechargeable battery collector tab configurations and foil thickness

An electrode for measuring the conductivity of liquid and solid electrolytes comprises an electrically conductive support having an effective amount of a high surface area metal foil thereon.

Electrode for conductivity cells comprising high surface area metal foil

Disclosed are methods for enhancing the adhesion of composite electrodes onto metal foils (i.e., current collectors), to metal foils prepared by these methods and to electrolytic cells produced from these metal foils.

Electrically-conducting adhesion-promoter

A method of making a composition having lithium, transition metal and oxygen elements and preferably having vanadium as the transition metal with a unit structure of the nominal general formula LiV.sub.3 O.sub.8, such structure being able to accept lithium ions. The method as exemplified by the formation of Li.sub.1+x V.sub.3 O.sub.8 (0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.0.2) comprises forming a mixture of intermingled particles of vanadium pentoxide (V.sub.2 O.sub.5) and lithium carbonate (Li.sub.2 CO.sub.3) each in an amount sufficient to provide a stoichiometric ratio of approximately 1:3 of lithium to vanadium respectively; compacting the particles by applying a compressive force to the intermingled particles; and heating the intermingled particles to an elevated temperature which is below the melting point of the LiV.sub.3 O.sub.8 product of the invention. The compacting and heating steps consolidate the particles into a densified body and cause diffusion of at least a portion of the elements across particle boundaries with release of carbon dioxide, thereby providing a lithium-vanadium-oxygen composition having a unit structure of Li.sub.1+x V.sub.3 O.sub.8.

Method of making lithium metal oxide cathode active material

There is provided a sample holder for use in radiant spectroscopy analysis. The sample holder comprises a plurality of openings defined by one or more solid, substantially opaque, structural elements, each of the openings being arranged to retain a solid, semi-solid, gel or liquid material sample in the opening. Desirably, the openings constitute at least a major portion of the combined area of the one or more structural elements and the openings. In one embodiment, the sample holder comprises a plurality of strips secured together at irregular (random) or regular intervals. Desirably, one first group of strips is disposed in parallel spaced apart relation and a second group of strips disposed in parallel relation with the groups intersecting at an angle of between 30 and 150 degrees and secured together at substantially regular intervals. The strips may be woven as in wire mesh, or non-woven as in expanded metal. In another embodiment, the sample holder is a sheet of metal having perforations. In each embodiment, the sample holder is of structural elements which are substantially solid and opaque to infrared (IR) radiation. The void spaces or openings are defined by the structural elements (i.e. wires). The void spaces retain the sample to be analyzed by spectroscopy.

Sample holder for spectroscopy

A method of synthesizing higher surface area vanadium oxides, having the chemical formula V.sub.2 O.sub.13+x, wherein 0.ltoreq.X.ltoreq.0.5, that are employed in fabricating cathode active materials for solid secondary electrochemical cells, is provided. The method includes forming dense NH.sub.4 VO.sub.3 pellets and heating the pellets to decompose the NH.sub.4 VO.sub.3 into V.sub.2 O.sub.5 and NH.sub.3, whereby the NH.sub.3 reduces the V.sub.2 O.sub.5 into vanadium oxides.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

On Kok Chang