Addionics has introduced a three-dimensional battery architecture designed to reduce performance losses in lithium-ion batteries at low temperatures. The Tel Aviv-based company says its Smart 3D Porous Current Collectors could improve cold-weather performance across electric vehicles, heavy trucks, defence drones and space systems.
3D Current Collectors Target Low-Temperature Losses
Addionics says conventional lithium-ion batteries can experience significant reductions in usable performance during severe winter conditions. For electric vehicles, the company estimates that range can fall by as much as 40% in such conditions as the battery must provide energy for propulsion while also supporting cabin heating, battery heating and thermal preparation before charging.
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The new architecture replaces conventional flat metal current-collector foils with a three-dimensional porous structure.
According to Addionics, the design allows electrolyte and lithium ions to move through the plane of the current collector rather than being restricted to pathways around it. This creates additional transport routes throughout the electrode.
The company says the architecture reduces effective ion-transport distances, improves access to active battery material and distributes electrochemical activity across a greater volume of the cell.
These changes are intended to help batteries maintain a greater proportion of their performance as temperatures decrease.
Potential Applications Extend Beyond Passenger Cars
Addionics is also targeting heavy-duty electric vehicles, where cold-weather battery performance can directly affect payload and operating range.
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Electric semi-trucks require sustained power output under heavy loads and highway operating conditions. Reduced battery performance in cold environments can therefore result in lower payload capacity or limitations on vehicle routes.
The company is also applying the technology to aerospace and defence applications.
For defence drones operating in freezing conditions, reduced battery performance can shorten mission duration and operational range while limiting available power for launch and manoeuvring.
In space applications, reducing the amount of energy required to heat batteries could produce system-level benefits. Addionics says lower heating requirements could affect the sizing and overall requirements of the battery, solar array and launch system.
Architecture Designed for Multiple Chemistries
Addionics says its Smart 3D Porous Current Collectors are compatible with existing and emerging battery chemistries and can be incorporated into existing manufacturing processes.
The company is working with customers across the automotive, defence, space, energy storage and industrial robotics sectors.
The architecture is intended to address battery performance under demanding temperature conditions without requiring a specific new battery chemistry, instead changing the internal current-collector structure used within the cell.