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Oct 25, 2024

US firm's lithium battery with Impervio separator to make EVs safer

Impervio separator works with all battery formats and easily integrates into existing manufacturing processes. Prabhat Ranjan Mishra With the available 24M prototypes, OEMs can test the innovations

Impervio separator works with all battery formats and easily integrates into existing manufacturing processes.

Prabhat Ranjan Mishra

With the available 24M prototypes, OEMs can test the innovations for rapid integration and deployment across the automotive industry. (Representational image)

24M/coffeekai

A Massachusetts-based company has begun the delivery of its commercial-sized lithium metal battery cells to a major automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Developed by 24M Technologies, the cells are integrated with its patented Impervio battery separator and Eternalyte electrolyte.The company claims that the delivery of these batteries to OEM marks a significant step toward large-scale production of safer, more reliable, electric vehicle (EV) batteries.24M Technologies maintains that the Impervio technology is a transformative battery separator that prevents fires by obstructing dendrite propagation.

The technology controls the cell at the individual electrode level, preventing dendrites from propagating and enabling early fault detection. Impervio can prevent a thermal runaway by monitoring the cell’s electrochemistry and enabling a failsafe in the event of a potential short, according to the company.Naoki Ota, CEO and President of 24M Technologies, stated that the growing concerns around battery fire safety must be addressed to ensure widespread adoption of EVs and a more sustainable energy future.

“This shipment of Impervio-enabled battery cells to a major OEM, is a significant first step in restoring consumer confidence that a safer, longer-lasting, and more efficient battery is obtainable,” said Ota.

The company also claims that the Impervio separator works with all battery formats and easily integrates into existing manufacturing processes. Because of this, OEMs can test and ultimately integrate the technology in their own facilities without making significant changes to their current production lines, whether using conventional battery production methods or the 24M SemiSolid process.With the available 24M prototypes, OEMs can test the innovations for rapid integration and deployment across the automotive industry.“In addition to addressing critical safety challenges, 24M is at the forefront of overcoming other barriers to widespread EV adoption. When combined, 24M innovations like Eternalyte, 24M ETOP (Electrode-to-Pack) and Liforever, enable a new era of EVs that can achieve up to 1,000 miles of range with batteries that are 100% recyclable,” said the company in a press release.

24M Technologies claims that while lithium-ion continues to be the preferred battery chemistry, it’s been plagued by safety challenges, including the formation of dendrites — metal structures that can build up on the anode surface potentially shorting the battery cell, which can lead to fires. The 24M Impervio technology prevents this with a fail-safe approach to battery safety.

The company also claimed that the proprietary, liquid electrolyte formula of Eternalyte enables significant improvements in cycle life and rate capability of lithium-metal batteries. Together with 24M’s full technology set, Eternalyte can deliver a cost-effective and safe 1,000-mile-per-charge battery pack.

“24M’s manufacturing process is a simple, space-efficient, low-cost, modular approach to lithium-ion battery manufacturing. The process, designed around the use of standard lithium-ion supply chain materials, results in greater than 50% CapEx savings versus a conventional manufacturing line,” said the company.

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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra Prabhat, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, is a tech and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing on modern weapons and emerging tech, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has been previously associated with well-known media houses, including the International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.

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