Basic knowledge in battery research bridging the gap between academia and industry

Abstract

The basic knowledge in battery research bridging the gap between academia and industry was reviewed by the authors from both fields. In the first half, the importance of three technological parameters in practical batteries is shown, i.e., (1) cathode loading, (2) anode/cathode pairing, and (3) electrolyte amount. We explain these key parameters in detail by showing several examples of the current lithium-ion batteries and lithium metal batteries in the literature with the aim of circulation of this key technological knowledge into academia, especially in the field of materials science. In order to clarify the correlation between the three key parameters and the energy density, simulations are carried out using a 1 A h pouch cell for a lithium-ion battery, i.e. graphite/LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811), and three types of lithium metal batteries (Li/NCM811, Li/S, and Li/O₂). The resultant energy densities, when the three key parameters are varied, are compared for these systems. In the second half, we survey representative reports on fundamental battery science mainly provided by academia, which contributed to the advancement of modern battery knowledge. However, this knowledge is necessary to be brought to our society assessed by the technological criteria used in industry, which are shown in the first half. In addition to the above discussions, we provide a cell simulator to calculate practical energy densities, which can be found as an Excel file in the ESI, and therefore it is free to access.