24M Technologies, a pioneering technology company specializing in battery design, has unveiled a new battery packing system with unmatched energy density. Called 24M ETOP™ (Electrode-to-Pack), the technology can increase electric vehicle (EV) driving range by up to 50%. The game-changing innovation seals electrodes in thin polymer films and integrates them directly into the pack, vastly improving packaging efficiencies and maximizing energy density.
Rethinking Battery Design for Maximum Efficiency
Currently, lithium-ion batteries feature a large proportion of inactive, non-energy-carrying materials within a cell’s casing. This adds cost and wastes space. The 24M ETOP system replaces this traditional cell-to-module-to-pack construction with an electrode-to-pack approach. This allows electrodes to comprise 80% of a pack’s volume, a significant increase from the 30% to 60% of traditional battery packs. Because a higher percentage of the battery is made of energy-storing components, manufacturers can achieve the highest energy density for any chemistry at the pack level.
A Revolutionary Choice for Automakers
This innovation provides a crucial new choice for car makers: they can either offer customers improved EV range by packing more energy into a same-sized pack, or they can reduce vehicle costs by using less expensive chemistries. For instance, a 75kWh NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) battery could be increased to over 100kWh using the same chemistry, boosting range by 33% in the same-sized pack. Alternatively, it becomes possible to swap NMC for a less expensive LFP (lithium-iron phosphate) chemistry, resulting in a less costly pack but with the same overall range.
Unprecedented Flexibility and Manufacturing Benefits
The 24M ETOP technology also offers unprecedented design flexibility, enabling completely customizable battery packs in different voltages and virtually any shape, such as ovals and hexagons. This allows for a more efficient use of available space, which translates into higher performance and lower costs.
Furthermore, the sealed electrodes can be flipped, allowing them to be connected in series and parallel arrangements. This enables anything from a compact, 48V battery, all the way up to a mixed 400-800V pack. This capability gives battery designers greater freedom. 24M ETOP also enables cell formation to be done in series, which can reduce formation equipment investment, one of the largest CAPEX items in today’s lithium-ion battery factories. Because electrodes are sealed individually, safety tolerances do not have to be as tight as in a traditional battery.
Naoki Ota, President and CEO at 24M Technologies, said the innovation is a step-change in performance. “24M ETOP makes it easier to build compact, flexible and safe high-voltage batteries, presenting a revolutionary opportunity for electric vehicle manufacturers,” he stated. Ota concluded by calling it “the closest version of an ideal battery.“
Paving the Way for a More Efficient Future
The 24M ETOP can also be used with other 24M technologies, including the Impervio separator, Eternalyte electrolyte, and LiForever electrode, to create a fundamentally safer, higher performing, and longer-lived battery. The technology provides a flexible, scalable, and more efficient solution for a variety of applications, helping to accelerate the transition to electric mobility.
