Lithium-Ion Battery Technology Wins R&D 100 Award for Battery Researchers and Industrial Partners

Researchers in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division's Electrochemical Energy Storage Department and their industrial partners have won an R&D 100 Award for lithium-ion battery technologies.

The battery's principal developers are Khalil Amine, an Argonne senior scientist and group leader; Illias Belharouak, an Argonne materials scientist; Zonghai Chen, an Argonne assistant chemist; Taison Tan, EnerDel's research and development manager; Hiroyuki Yumoto, EnerDel's director of research and development; and Naoki Ota, EnerDel president and chief operating officer.

The EnerDel/Argonne Advanced High-Power Battery for hybrid electric vehicles
is a highly reliable and extremely safe device that is lighter in weight, more compact, more powerful and longer-lasting than the nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) )batteries in today's hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

The battery is expected to meet the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium's $500 manufacturing price criterion for a 25-kilowatt battery, which is almost a sixth of the cost to make comparable Ni-MH batteries intended for use in HEVs. It is also less expensive to make than comparable Li-ion batteries. That cost reduction is expected to help make HEVs more competitive in the marketplace and enable consumers to receive an immediate payback in gas-cost savings rather than having to wait seven years for the savings to surpass the premium placed on HEVs.

Additionally, the EnerDel/Argonne battery does not use graphite as the anode material, which has been one of the causes for concern about the safety of other Li-ion battery types. Instead, Argonne developed an innovative new nano-phase form of stable lithium titanate (LTO) to replace the graphite, as well as the process for making this form of nano-phased LTO. The new form of nano-phase LTO will allow for easier industrial processing, as well as provide a high packing density that can increase the battery's energy density and provide the power needed for vehicle acceleration and regenerative charging of HEVs.

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies program provides funding for Argonne battery research.

Argonne scientists have been awarded 101 R&D 100 Awards since the awards were introduced by R&D Magazine in 1964. Winning a prestigious R&D 100 Award -- dubbed the "Oscars of innovation" by The Chicago Tribune -- provides proof that a product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year, according to R&D Magazine.

"This is yet the latest example of how the Department of Energy and our national laboratories are continuing to demonstrate world-class leadership in innovation, as we enhance our energy security, national security and economic competitiveness," Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said. "On behalf of the department, I would like to congratulate all of our employees who have earned R&D 100 awards and in particular this year's winners."

"These awards demonstrate the scientific know-how and innovative spirit on the part of Argonne researchers," said Argonne Director Robert Rosner. "I offer my hearty congratulations to our winning scientists."

About EnerDel

EnerDel is owned by Ener1, Inc. (80.5 percent) and Delphi Corporation (19.5 percent). EnerDel has a production facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. EnerDel currently employs approximately 65 highly experienced engineers and technicians involved in the battery development of both cells and systems.

Excerpted from Argonne National Laboratory News Release, July 17, 2008