Blackstone focuses on developing 3D printed solid-state batteries for Tesla

3D printingSince its inception, the technology has been applied to various fields such as medical, military, aerospace, automotive, and electronics. In addition, it has also been initially used in energy storage systems such as lithium-ion batteries, lithium-oxygen batteries, and zinc-ion batteries.Recently, the Swiss company Blackstone Resources-Blackstone Resources relies on its proprietary3D printing-Additive manufacturing technology (used to print lithium-ion solid-state batteries) has achieved a series of important milestones.

©Blackstone Capital

Or a new paradigm shift?

Over the threshold of prototype

Blackstone Resources-Blackstone Resources has been investing in next-generation battery technology through its German subsidiary Blackstone Technology GmbH.This includes patented3D printingTechnology and research on battery mass production, facts have proved that3D printingTechnology can provide greater energy density and more charging cycles.

©Blackstone Capital

Compared with the traditional battery design using liquid electrolyte, according to the understanding of 3D Science Valley, Blackstone Technology’s3D printingThe process has obvious advantages. These measures include significantly reducing costs, increasing the production flexibility of battery sizes, and increasing energy density by 20%.

In addition, by using3D printingTechnology can reduce the amount of materials that do not store energy (ie, copper and aluminum) by as much as 10%. These advantages can be achieved independently of the electrode chemistry.According to Holger Gritzka, CEO of Blackstone Technology Co., Ltd., combined with3D printingThe development of battery technology, this development paved the way for the mass production of solid-state batteries.In addition to major markets such as the automotive industry, marine applications and new 5G wireless networks will also benefit from3D printingThe advantages that solid-state batteries can provide.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about the importance of obtaining next-generation battery technology and the raw materials needed to produce these batteries. Even with new technologies designed to reduce the amount of battery material required, Elon Musk predicts that next-generation batteries will use less battery metals (such as cobalt) and use more nickel and lithium.

In fact, with the joining of Tesla and major automakers, the demand for all these metals may increase significantly. At present, major automakers have also begun to launch their first batch of electric vehicles, and plan to provide electric vehicles for all their car series. change.

Developed and tested by Blackstone Resources3D printingBattery, the battery has made significant improvements in battery density, charging cycle and cost. The Swiss company has also developed a workflow that can mass-produce these batteries in various shapes or forms in 2021 using proprietary battery printing technology. After developing and testing this technology, Blackstone Resources is ready to take the next step.In order to pass this3D printingTechnology obtains the highest efficiency and maximum utilization, the company plans to produce3D printingOf solid-state batteries.

This may change the development of solid-state batteries, automation3D printingThe production process can save up to 70% of the traditional capital expenditure for the production of solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries are also safer because they do not use flammable liquid electrolytes that are more harmful to the environment.According to China3D printingAccording to the network’s understanding, the first solid-state battery prototypes developed by Blackstone Germany have been tested. The company plans to mass-produce these solid-state batteries in the near future.

The production of these battery prototypes will prove that Blackstone Resources can3D printingMass production of required battery composite materials, casings and solid electrolytes. In addition to the Blackstone Group, there are now many competing companies vying to bring next-generation battery technology to the market. These companies may beat Tesla in terms of providing next-generation technologies, including solid-state batteries and new advanced manufacturing technologies. For Tesla, this should not be a problem, because Tesla has a lot of capital and can quickly accelerate the pace through targeted acquisitions.

The new energy of the situation

In China, before that, Sun Jingyu, a professor at the School of Energy of Soochow University, and a team of Liu Zhongfan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Peking University, established3D printingSulfur cathode, and obtained a lithium-sulfur battery with high rate performance and high areal capacity. Related technologies can also be extended to other emerging energy storage devices, providing an important reference for the development of new, efficient and large-scale electrode construction methods. Relevant research results were recently published in the high-level international energy journal “Nano Energy”.

In recent years, in order to increase the utilization rate of active material sulfur and improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries, researchers have conducted a large number of exploratory studies, striving to find suitable sulfur host materials, binders and electrolytes.

Although many research advances and achievements have been made in these fields, most lithium-sulfur battery systems still have problems such as low sulfur loading, low surface capacity, and excessive use of electrolyte, which are far from meeting the requirements of practical application and commercialization. Related studies have shown that one of the important factors leading to insufficient energy density and short battery cycle life of current lithium-sulfur batteries is the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides.

The teams of Liu Zhongfan and Sun Jingyu have been paying attention to and carrying out research on olefinic carbon energy materials and application technologies for a long time.In recent years, they have changed from3D printingNew breakthrough ideas and enlightenments have been found in technology.3D printingThe technology has many advantages, such as helping to construct a self-supporting non-collector electrode with a hierarchical pore structure, and facilitating the rapid transmission of ions and electrons.3D printingThe technology realizes the control of the electrode material load by controlling the number of printed layers, breaking through the thickness limitation of electrodes prepared by conventional coating methods, so as to obtain a battery system with high unit area capacity. In terms of practical applications, it can meet the construction needs of customized and large-scale energy storage devices.

However, for energy storage applications3D printingThere are still many key bottlenecks in technology. For example, the printing accuracy of electrodes puts higher requirements on equipment configuration, the preparation process of printing ink urgently needs to be systematically explored, and the lack of large-scale printing equipment.

(Editor in charge: admin)