Sumitomo is also involved with a company called Enevate Corp, who have developed a silicon-dominant composite anode - see link - so could well be they are have a better technology? Will do some more "looking".
Enevate Founder and Chief Technology Officer shares new silicon-dominant Li-ion battery innovations
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 23, 2016– Dr. Benjamin Park, Enevate Corporation’s Founder and Chief Technology Officer, discussed technical details behind the company’s HD-Energy Technology at this week’s 33rd International Battery Seminar in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Park disclosed the technology and benefits of Enevate’s new silicon-dominant Li-ion battery innovations overcoming the obstacles of other and more traditional silicon approaches. Unlike graphite-dominant anodes that only include a small percentage of silicon-containing additive, Enevate is manufacturing silicon-dominant anodes as a proprietary active material film with over 70 percent silicon content.
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Edge of Enevate’s silicon-dominant anode magnified at 100X. Enevate’s self-standing monolithic anode enables Li-ion batteries with both ultrafast charging and high energy density. (Photo: Business Wire)
“It’s exciting to see what started off as an anode technology mainly targeting high energy density show additional benefits such as ultrafast charging. The unique properties of our developed silicon-dominant conductive active material film has led to additional benefits for mobile users,” said Dr. Park. “For example, we have demonstrated ultrafast charging with 90 percent cell charge in 15 minutes and 50 percent in as little as 5 minutes, and benchmarks are showing between 35 percent to 50 percent longer smartphone runtime.”
Enevate’s innovations, supported by 25 issued and pending patents, allow for a silicon composite anode with a gravimetric energy density of about 2800 mAh/g and very high initial Coulombic efficiencies of 93 percent for the anode and 90 percent for full cells, while controlling the well-known issues associated with volumetric expansion and contraction. The composite is comprised of carbon as a conductive matrix, silicon as the main active material, and silicon-carbide as a nanometer-scale layer protecting the silicon surface. In addition, Enevate technology is compatible with current high-volume manufacturing processes, leading to lower costs and providing the ability for use in existing form-factors.
Dr. John Goodenough, a key inventor of the modern Li-ion battery, said, “Enevate is using a different technical approach for silicon anodes that is truly unique and innovative to deliver both ultrafast charging and high energy density. I’m impressed that their technology and process is practical, highly manufacturable, and has the potential to be sufficiently inexpensive for high-volume mobile devices.”
Enevate Corporation is an advanced rechargeable energy storage company focused on next-generation mobile devices and drones with global headquarters in Irvine, CA. Enevate’s batteries with its breakthrough HD-Energy Technology delivers significant performance improvement over conventional Li-ion batteries. Investors include Mission Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Tsing Capital, Infinite Potential Technologies, Presidio Ventures – a Sumitomo Corporation company, and CEC Capital. Enevate, the Enevate logo, and HD-Energy are registered trademarks and eBoost is a trademark of the Enevate Corporation.
