On October 14, 2024, ProLogium Technology, a leader in next-generation lithium ceramic battery (LCB) innovation, unveiled its groundbreaking "100% Silicon Composite Anode" chemistry system at the 2024 Paris Motor Show. This marks a significant leap forward in battery technology, with the system being certified by TÜV Rheinland and showcased in partnership with Germany's FEV Group. The new system not only surpasses traditional lithium-ion batteries in energy density and charging efficiency but also addresses key industry challenges such as the shortage of charging stations and the residual value of used vehicles.
ProLogium's Founder and Chairman, Vincent Yang, emphasized the company's goal to be a game changer in the market, injecting new energy into the electric vehicle sector. The new battery system achieves a volumetric energy density of 749 Wh/L and a gravimetric energy density of 321 Wh/kg, with projections to increase to 823 Wh/L and 355 Wh/kg by the end of 2024. This places ProLogium's LCB well ahead of mainstream lithium iron phosphate batteries (under 200 Wh/kg) and NCM batteries (200 to 300 Wh/kg), with the potential to increase the lead by up to 77% by year-end.
The "100% Silicon Composite Anode" enables fast charging, with the ability to charge from 5% to 60% in just 5 minutes and reach 80% in 8.5 minutes. This advancement significantly reduces charging time and extends vehicle range, enhancing overall performance. ProLogium's "Small Battery, Big Future" concept offers consumers a seamless transition to next-generation batteries, with the potential to travel the same distance with a smaller, lighter battery, reducing vehicle weight by 300 kg and increasing energy efficiency and driving range.
ProLogium's strategic partnership with FEV Group, announced at the Paris Motor Show, highlights the integration of their battery packs into electric vehicles, marking ProLogium's progression from an EV component producer to a developer of battery modules and packs. This collaboration underscores ProLogium's significant strides in commercialization and their commitment to shaping the future of sustainable mobility.
Established in 2006, ProLogium specializes in innovative lithium ceramic battery solutions for electric vehicles, consumer markets, and industrial applications. With over 900 global patents, ProLogium has delivered nearly 8,000 next-generation battery samples to automakers worldwide. Its first brand-new gigafactory, known as the Taoke plant, opened in February 2024 in Taoyuan, Taiwan, is ready to deliver C-samples to global automotive industry clients, driving global capacity expansion. ProLogium also opened its first overseas R&D center in Paris-Saclay in May 2024 and is on track to complete its first overseas gigafactory Dunkirk, France by late 2026 or early 2027.
Revolutionary Battery Architecture at ProLogium: Pioneering the Use of Ceramic Separators and Advanced Materials
In terms of revolutionary battery architecture, ProLogium Technology has taken the lead in innovatively adopting a "ceramic separator" to replace the traditional polymer film, which is compatible with a variety of advanced battery materials that current lithium-ion batteries cannot utilize. These include various solid-state electrolyte materials such as oxides, sulfides, solid polymers, and halides. ProLogium can employ different chemical systems for different application scenarios. For example, the anode can use 100% silicon anode, silicon composite material (SCM), ultra-thin lithium metal, or an anode-free design to achieve the desired energy density. Whether it's liquid, semi-solid, hybrid solid, or all-solid-state batteries, as well as future BiPolar+ bipolar battery modules and battery pack designs, they can all be realized under this new battery architecture. In May of this year, ProLogium also announced a collaboration with the French advanced battery materials company Arkema, which will focus on customizing Kynar® PVDF and advanced high-performance materials for ProLogium's next-generation lithium ceramic batteries.
State-Of-The-Art Battery Manufacturing Processes and Exclusive Patented Technologies Behind the Lithium Ceramic Batteries
In terms of revolutionary processes and exclusive technologies, which helps ProLogium to achieve mass production from pilot-scale, ProLogium's globally exclusive Logithium™ printer can achieve precise positioning, significantly enhancing the accuracy of alignment and anode-cathode attachment during the manufacturing process. It also serves as a moisture barrier and prevents short circuits, achieving a single-layer inlay yield of 99.9% and a multi-layer inlay yield of 94% on the pilot line. Additionally, other exclusive processes employed by ProLogium also include film laminator and flexo printing machines, both absent in traditional battery manufacturing. Along with more than 4,000 quality checkpoints and automatic inspection equipment, these processes are key to achieving high yield and product quality. The laminator process presses and attaches a special heat-resistant carrier film to the substrate, making it thinner, stiffer, and more thermally resistant, thereby increasing the cell’s energy density. This carrier film can be recycled in back-end processes to be reused, further reducing costs. Regarding the flexo-printing process, it prints alignment marks on the substrates to achieve the precise alignment and attachment required for lithium ceramic battery production, enhancing yield. Later in the calendering process, it involves hot pressing with high temperature and pressure, making the electrodes more compact and improving ion and electron conductivity and energy density.
Thanks to the good flexibility of ProLogium's multi-layer coating, it is suitable for roll-to-roll production. The special process design of directly applying the ceramic separator to the anode eliminates the need for an additional separate placement of the separator film process. Compared to its first-generation technology, ProLogium’s current machinery boasts a 2.6-fold increase in width and a 2.1-fold increase in operating length, significantly boosting productivity. The production line speed is over four times that of the previous generation, overcoming a major technical limitation faced by traditional battery production. Moreover, ProLogium's exclusive separator process technology is different from traditional methods, with a production line speed of up to 55 meters per minute.
Following electrode manufacturing is ProLogium’s exclusive “hot flow dehydration” process. This technique enables rapid dehydration at 200 degrees Celsius during the roll winding process, completing the task in just 8 minutes. In contrast, traditional battery processes require 8 hours for dehydration through “vacuum drying.” This significantly enhances production efficiency.
After dehydration, the next step is ProLogium’s groundbreaking and exclusive technology, “Electrode Assembly to Form an Inlay.” This process precisely aligns and attaches 12 pieces of cathode and anode electrodes simultaneously through a single hot pressing. By applying high temperature and pressure, this technique reduces interface resistance and enhances electrical performance. This advancement significantly increases production speed and capacity for next-generation batteries, setting ProLogium’s lithium ceramic batteries apart from traditional ones, which can only attach one piece at a time due to material thermal limitations.
With these revolutionary battery architecture and exclusive process technologies, ProLogium have managed to streamline the 17 core manufacturing processes of lithium ceramic batteries from to 13. This reduction particularly omits the most time-consuming back-end assembly processes, such as separator film placement, electrolyte injection, vacuum soaking, and degassing. This one-stop, automated production line creates commercially competitive next-generation batteries for the market. This one-stop, automated production line creates commercially competitive next-generation batteries for the market.
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