Expectations high for Argonne's battery technology

Material might double drive time for electric cars

by Ted Gregory
Chicago Tribune
January 7, 2011
http://bit.ly/battery-development

It's nothing more than a piece of a battery that powers 
electric cars, but the technology developed at Argonne 
National Laboratory may be a turning point on the road 
to more efficient electric cars, experts say.

The reason: The material may enable them to travel 
twice as far as they do now before recharging by 
boosting the voltage of batteries, lightening their weight 
and extending their lives.

It's a patented composite cathode material Argonne 
scientists have been refining since inventing it in 2001. 
About a year ago, General Motors and LG Chem Ltd., 
a Korean battery-maker with a subsidiary in Michigan, 
approached Argonne and started negotiating licensing 
agreements that were announced last week at a 
teleconference.

"This is the beginning of what would be a transformation 
of our transportation system," Argonne director 
Eric Isaacs said. "And that's huge. … The dawn of a new 
era."

The reason for the enthusiasm is what Argonne calls 
the "unique combination of lithium- and manganese-rich 
mixed-metal oxides" in the cathode, which is where 
current flows.

Compared with materials in widespread use in batteries 
now, the new composite material is less expensive and 
can be contained in the smallest, lightest package.

By allowing batteries to be charged at higher voltages, 
it can increase energy storage - called energy density - 
by as much as 100 percent over conventional cathode 
material, Isaacs and others said.

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., whose district includes 
Argonne, called the licensing "an exciting milestone … 
as it marks the critical phase in which our long-term 
investments in basic research translate into real benefits 
for consumers and American jobs."

LG Chem Michigan is building a $303 million lithium-ion 
battery production plant in Holland, Mich., which will 
make the batteries for GM's Volt electric car and 
create about 400 jobs.

GM will study the Argonne battery technology for other 
uses, efforts that "will be able to speed these innovations 
out of the lab and into the marketplace," Biggert said.

In addition to jobs created by the new technology, 
Biggert, Energy Undersecretary Cathy Zoi and others 
said long-range benefits include environmental 
improvements and energy independence.

The excitement among those with a vested interest in 
the technology is understandable. But Shelley Minteer, 
a St. Louis University chemistry professor who has 
done extensive research on efficient uses of alternative 
energy, also was encouraged.

Extending the time between charges "is obviously 
high-impact and could help transform us from hybrid 
to totally electric vehicles," she said.

Argonne's technology "will dramatically decrease the 
battery weight for the same 'use time' or allow you 
to increase 'use time' of your technology by 50 to 
100 percent with the same weight of battery," 
Minteer said.

"For both transportation and portable applications 
(cars, laptops and cell phones), the energy density 
of a battery is critically important," she said.
"You want long use time - the ability to drive 
many miles or talk many hours - for the smallest 
amount of weight possible."

Argonne, which emphasizes turning scientific 
breakthroughs into mainstream use, receives 
"a few million dollars a year" in revenue from 
licensing agreements, Isaacs said. He declined 
to provide financial terms of Argonne's deal 
with GM and LG Chem.

"We're not looking to make a buck," he said.

Argonne's budget is $650 million a year, Isaacs said, 
and the federal government funds two-thirds of it.

"The point," he said, "is to plow it back into 
good science."