24M announced today that it has been selected to receive $3.2 million in funding from the Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is a component of the ARPA-E EVs4ALL (Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living) program, which aims to develop EV batteries that are more affordably priced, useful, efficient, and durable.
“We are pleased to be chosen for this initiative and help strengthen the domestic supply chain for advanced batteries that power electric vehicles,” said Naoki Ota, president, and CEO of 24M. “The demand for lower-cost, higher-capacity batteries is greater than ever before. The current processes to manufacture lithium-ion batteries are approaching performance and cost limits and require an innovative manufacturing platform that improves performance while reducing costs.”
Utilizing its adaptable SemiSolid manufacturing platform, 24M will collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to create low-cost, quick-charging sodium metal batteries with good low-temperature performance for EVs. Three crucial elements will be included in the 24M cell design:
- A cobalt- and nickel-free sodium cathode active material that is ultra-thick and semi-solid.
- A cutting-edge wide-temperature, quick-charging electrolyte created with automated high-throughput screening technologies and machine learning.
- A superionic conductor for sodium.
“As the U.S. Department of Energy looks to expand domestic adoption of electric vehicles, sodium metal batteries can play an important role in ensuring low costs for all consumers,” said Dr. JunZheng Chen, director of advanced R&D at 24M. “This funding will help us develop, manufacture, and deliver these batteries at scale.”
Utilizing lithium-ion chemistry, the ultra-thick Semi-solid electrode design has been commercially demonstrated with an extraordinarily high energy density. The team will adapt this to sodium chemistry, paving the way for quick-charging, highly efficient, and inexpensive batteries that are perfect for the EVs4ALL initiative by utilizing the 24M chemical-independent SemiSolid manufacturing platform and modular approach to battery cell design.
