Canada's Li-Metal Corp. looks to play key role in solid-state lithium batteries

Automakers aim to make solid-state batteries the standard for electric vehicles over the next decade, and the technological leap is starting to take shape, with a familiar element building its case to become an integral part of the next-generation batteries.

The chemistry can vary a bit based on the specific application, but “a big underlying commonality” of most solid-state batteries in development today is their use of lithium metal for the negative electrode, or anode, said Kunal Phalpher, president of Markham, Ont.-based Li-Metal Corp.

The lightweight metal, he added, is the “key enabler” to bringing safer, range-extending solid-state batteries to market.

While the name is the same, the lithium in the lithium ion batteries that power today’s EVs takes the form of an oxide, and is blended with other key ingredients to make up a battery’s positive cathode. Lithium metal, on the other hand, is lithium in its metallic form. In solid-state batteries, the metal is used as the anode, enabling the battery to pack in far more energy than conventional anodes made of graphite.

This greater energy density, Phalpher said, lets automakers either slim down the physical size of the batteries in their next-generation EVs, or maintain the same sized battery and offer far better range.

MOMENTUM BUILDING

Li-Metal has no plans to build batteries itself, but is commercializing industrial processes to produce lithium metal itself and lithium-metal anodes. The Canadian startup has a pilot-scale anode production plant in Rochester, NY., and a pilot-scale lithium-metal facility just north of Toronto.

The market for both products is still in its early stages, but momentum is building.

Conrad Layson, senior alternative-propulsion analyst at U.S.-based forecasting firm AutoForecast Solutions (AFS) said solid-state development is progressing with several types of anodes, but lithium metal has received the most attention.   

“I don’t think we’re getting away from lithium. The benefits of energy density are just too great.”

As solid-state battery development ramps up, Li-Metal is working with more than two dozen battery manufacturers and automakers interested in its lithium metal and anodes, Phalpher said.

Most of these deals are confidential, but Li-Metal has disclosed one partnership with Blue Solutions, a subsidiary of France’s Bolloré Group with manufacturing and research operations in Quebec. The two companies are collaborating on the solid-state battery maker’s fourth-generation product, with a particular focus on developing very thin lithium-metal anodes.

Along with Blue Solutions, an increasingly crowded field of aspiring and established battery manufacturers are advancing development of solid-state batteries that rely on lithium metal.

U.S.-based startups QuantumScape Corp. and SES AI Corp., for instance, are each planning to commercialize solid-state batteries that use lithium metal for the negative electrode. Others are hedging their bets. Colorado-based Solid Power and Taiwan-based ProLogium are each working on solid-state batteries with lithium-metal anodes and alternatives with silicon-based anodes.

The shift to solid-state is also in focus at today’s largest EV battery makers. China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., as well as South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK On, are each advancing solid-state programs, although they have typically been less forthcoming about detailing the specific chemistries they are exploring.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Automakers have a stake in more than just the resulting products. Most have locked in joint development agreements or committed funding to leading developers, Layson said.

But while solid-state batteries are “promising,” there’s still “work to be done” before they’re ready for production EVs, Layson said. In particular, developers must improve the lifespan of the batteries to ensure they can be charged and discharged as many, or more, times than their lithium ion counterparts today, he added.

Many developers are aiming to have their solid-state batteries in production EVs by the late 2020s or early 2030s, with a few adopting even more aggressive timelines.

Phalpher said such estimates are always challenging, but that progress over the past two years has been “a lot faster than expected.” He said 2026 is the earliest solid-state batteries are likely to be ready for EVs, while 2028 or 2029 is a more realistic timeline.