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The American solid-state battery developer has announced that it has achieved 800 cycles with its battery, which is a significant step towards commercialization. If this trend continues, the development holds promising potential for grid-scale projects.
ION Storage Systems has reached the 800-cycle mark with its solid-state battery, which it plans to take into commercial production. The battery previously surpassed 125 cycles with less than five percent capacity loss in March 2024.
The 800-cycle milestone was achieved without encountering the usual issues that can complicate market readiness for solid-state batteries. The battery, which uses a ceramic electrolytic separator, was tested without compression and showed no signs of swelling or volume change.
This means the battery will not require compression, a budget for inflation, an extensive cooling system or heavy fire barriers when it comes to market, according to ION.
Neil Ovadia, VP of Supply Chain at ION, spoke to ESS News about the companys progress following previous coverage in 2022.
“The last two years have been transformative. We have gone from having around 20 employees to more than 75, we have expanded to two larger buildings and we have laid the first stone of our pilot manufacturing plant,” said Ovadia.
“We are initially focused on defense and consumer products markets, with plans to transition to electric vehicles and grid storage as we drive down costs and increase energy density,” he added.
Technical milestones
The technical achievement of the battery itself was the highlight, according to Ovadia.
“We have made great strides in the lifespan of our product. We went from testing 125 cycles in March to achieving 800 cycles in July. More importantly, these cycles were achieved at room temperature without compression or additional aids, demonstrating the true potential of our solid-state technology,” he said.
Robert Whittlesey, IONs Principal Technical Programme Manager, explained to ESS News the technical process of the tests and highlighted their importance.
“800 cycles is significant because it is above most consumer electronics. This brings us to electric vehicle applications and grid storage, and even space applications that require a high cycle life. So this is something that could be used for all applications.”
Ovadia added: “It’s a confluence of all the characteristics of that battery that got to 800 cycles. One thing you find in solid-state batteries is this compression requirement, this heat requirement, this pampering of the battery to get those cycles. If you look at it as a final product, it’s more expensive, it’s heavier, and it takes away the potential and promise of a solid-state battery.”
A graph provided by ION from C/3 testing (a charge-discharge rate of charge every three hours, discharge every three hours) shows low capacity loss: |
