StoreDot, a start-up battery company from Israel, claims to have developed XFC ultra-fast rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with technical maturity in mass production. StoreDot has been invested by Daimler, Samsung and BP Venture to develop a new battery pack made of silicon-based materials to make battery anodes, which can charge batteries by 50% without increasing cost.
Using silicon instead of graphite, storing or releasing lithium ions during charge and discharge, silicon can store more than 10 times more lithium ions than stone mills, so it can greatly increase the charging speed. Therefore, this technology is one of the research and development priorities of the current lithium battery industry, but when charging and discharging, the volume of silicon material changes up to 3 times, which is enough to physically destroy the battery pack.
One solution is nanotechnology, which stores silicone nanoparticles in a matrix that can effectively control the expansion ratio without producing other side effects or changing the properties of the material, which Is also a key technology that StoreDot claims to have mastered for mass production. The silicon particles with a diameter of about 100 nanometers are placed in a scaffold made of hardened carbon and biocomposite materials, which are not affected when the battery undergoes a chemical reaction, and is only responsible for ensuring that all the silicon particles have enough room to stretch. Finally, the volume change of the entire group structure is controlled at about 10%, and the battery pack structure can be easily endured without damage.
StoreDot also has another rather interesting technology that was recently patented, that is, the self-healing battery pack. At present, most of the battery packs of electric vehicles use a large number of column lithium batteries to combine into small units, and then compose large battery packs by small units, which is to facilitate the repair and replacement of damaged batteries. The battery in the unit cannot be swapped independently, and even if only one battery fails, it will affect the overall power storage capacity and require the entire group to be replaced.
StoreDot's patent temporarily cuts off the connection when the battery degrades or overheats, and allows the battery to return to good condition through a deep cycle of slow charging. All processes are designed to take place during the vehicle's use without the driver being aware of it and without compromising vehicle performance or handling.
XFC ultra-fast rechargeable lithium batteries and battery self-healing are expected to be mass-produced in 2024, if the original claim of technological breakthroughs are true, it may become a bridge before the maturity of solid-state batteries, so that electric vehicles can accelerate the popularity.