Huacai Technology announced on September 3rd that, addressing the manufacturing challenges of electrode sheets and solid-state electrolyte membranes, the company has developed a "green, energy-saving, cost-effective, and high-performance" dry electrode membrane preparation technology. The company has independently developed dry electrode production equipment, integrating multiple in-house developed systems, significantly improving the quality of thin films and ion transport efficiency. The automated production process ensures the stable output of high-quality batteries, achieving cost reduction and efficiency enhancement.
Highlights of Technological Innovation
The highlight of Huacai's dry preparation self-supported membrane technology lies in the in-house equipment's treatment of binder fiberization, while closely bonding active materials and conductive agents to form a self-supported membrane with high dispersion uniformity, large support membrane density, good conductivity, and high capacity. The dry process slurry has significant advantages in improving electrode performance, increasing production efficiency, enhancing material properties, optimizing slurry characteristics, reducing production costs, enhancing battery safety, and improving product quality.
Huacai Technology stated that the dry electrode self-supported membrane prepared by its equipment has good toughness and high tensile strength, greatly enhancing the stability of the electrode. Furthermore, the successful application of the dry electrode self-supported membrane technology effectively improves the overall performance of the battery, paving the way for high safety and high energy density of batteries.
Dry Battery Electrodes Better Matched with Next-Generation Batteries
1. Solid-State Batteries & Dry Battery Electrode:
The dry process slurry does not rely on a large amount of solvent for mixing in the early stages, similar to the design concept of solid-state batteries. With the empowerment of dry technology, the electrode manufacturing process of solid-state batteries can be completely dry, eliminating the residual issues of solvent molecules after drying in the wet process. In addition, using the primary fiberization effect of the binder to manufacture solid electrolyte membranes can enhance the performance of solid-state batteries, with the following advantages:
● Lower porosity, improving ionic conductivity
● Active materials and binders are dry mixed into a membrane, eliminating the need for drying and reducing manufacturing costs
● Higher tap density, more conducive to addressing solid-solid interface issues
2. Pre-Lithiation & Dry Battery Electrode:
No need to consider the compatibility of pre-lithium materials with solvents, reducing the difficulty of pre-lithiation. The pre-lithiation strategy prefers a dry electrode production environment. In the wet process, solvents can react with pre-lithium additives, consuming active lithium, increasing battery impedance, and weakening the pre-lithiation effect. The dry process does not require solvents, and the dry production environment is more suitable for the needs of pre-lithiation strategies.
Huacai Technology Dry Battery Electrode Solution
Huacai Technology has independently developed various process-specific equipment for semi-solid, solid-state, and dry electrodes, and has jointly developed and verified with several leading industry customers. It can achieve graphite anodes with less than 2% PTFE content and fiberization of NCM cathode formulations; significantly improving the uniformity of the internal active materials, SP, and fiber drawing and wrapping of fibrillated materials; the dry process electrode sheet tension can reach above 0.5MPa; and continuous pilot-scale production of self-supported membranes with a width of 350mm.
● Self-supported membranes obtained through the twin-screw extrusion process, by reasonably matching the screws of the dispersion section, achieve more uniform and orderly fiberization
● Compared to air flow grinding and high-speed coating machines, self-supported membranes obtained through the twin-screw extrusion process have a more uniform particle size distribution, effectively reducing the degree of damage to the raw material crystal structure
Huacai Technology Ultra-High Solid Content Electrode Solution
Through the twin-screw extruder, it is possible to continuously extrude self-supported electrode membranes with less than 2% binder content and more than 80% solid content of LFP and NCM cathodes; the unique cooling die design ensures that the density error of the material surface is less than ±1.2%; the electrode sheet tension can reach above 0.5MPa.
● Continuous film formation through the twin-screw extruder allows for the observation of dense fiberization
● Depending on the binder ratio, the average linear tensile force of the secondary thinning of 100μm self-supported membranes is >30N/m
● After compounding with the current collector, the NCM tap density is >4.0g/cm3, and the LFP tap density is >3.2g/cm3
Advantages of Huacai Dry Electrode & Ultra-High Solid Content Twin-Screw Extruder Equipment
● Capacity of about 5-10kg/Hr, specifically designed for experimentation
● Provides ultra-high shear rates of over 10,000 1/s
● Can meet internal extrusion pressures of 80Bar
● Precise temperature control, with each section capable of precise control within 200°C
● Precise temperature control cooling die, capable of producing electrode membranes within 500μm thickness
● After material extrusion, it achieves a laminar flow state, ensuring the uniformity and orderliness of drawing
● The twin-screw main unit has a variable length-to-diameter ratio, offering greater flexibility for different formulations
Looking Forward to the Far-Reaching Impact
The successful verification of Huacai Technology's dry electrode self-supported membrane technology aids in the manufacturing of all-solid-state battery electrodes. In the future, the application of this technology will greatly promote the development of related industries such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems, advancing the cause of green energy and sustainable development.
