On Tuesday local time, Japan's Toshiba Corporation announced that it has developed a lithium-ion battery that does not contain metallic cobalt, which can significantly suppress gases generated by battery side reactions, thereby improving battery performance. In tests, the new battery can be charged 80% in 5 minutes, and Toshiba said it will strive to achieve commercialization in 2028. The company says the new battery could be used in a wide range of applications, from ordinary power tools to electric vehicles.
Cobalt and nickel are widely used as components of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. However, cobalt is a rare metal and has potential issues with cost stability and supply chain reliability. Toshiba's new lithium-ion battery contains no cobalt and less nickel, making it a superior solution in terms of cost and resource conservation.
The use of 5V-level high-potential cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries will improve battery voltage and power performance, but it also has some drawbacks: decomposition products will catalyze the decomposition of solvents in the electrolyte, and will also produce side reactions of gases that reduce battery performance. Toshiba claims that its new lithium-ion battery can significantly improve these problems.
Toshiba said features of the new battery include support for ultra-fast charging, charging to 80% in 5 minutes, and long life, with a capacity retention rate of 99.2% even after 100 cycles of charge and discharge at high temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius.
As one of the major markets for lithium-ion batteries, the automotive industry is exploring high-voltage fast charging technology to solve users' "charging anxiety" and "range anxiety." And high-voltage batteries will reduce the number of battery stacks required for battery modules and reduce costs.
Toshiba's research found that the electrolyte decomposes and generates gas on the surface of the high-potential positive electrode material, causing metal components to dissolve and deposit on the negative electrode surface. The company used these findings to develop a technology that effectively inhibits the reaction of the cathode material with the electrolyte.
The company has also developed a technology that limits the transfer of deactivated lithium ions on the negative electrode surface to improve battery performance and life. Through the combination of these technologies, gas generation is successfully suppressed even when conventional highly conductive electrolytes are used.
Yasuhiro Harada, senior researcher at the Nanomaterials Frontier Research Laboratory at Toshiba Research and Development Center, said: "In order to deploy this technology for automotive use, we need to increase the capacity to achieve this goal. In order to make the battery larger, we also need a lot of verification, and we believe that we should start from areas with lower technical barriers and then target automotive applications with higher technical barriers. Regarding the commercialization of on-board batteries, we will consider technological progress and consult with the battery department to verify whether the goal is correct. If any manufacturer, including car manufacturers, is interested, we will move forward together."