Case Study on Technology Life Cycle- Lithium ion batteries
Assignment Question:
Select a product related to household or automobile use and with regard to selected
product carry out your own case study showing the detailed innovation/ technology life
cycle and explain it in detail.
Introduction
The history of lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries is preceded by a long history of rechargeable
batteries dating back to the invention of the lead acid battery in 1859. A number of
other rechargeable battery chemistries have been commercialised since the lead acid
battery as battery chemists seek ever increasing energy densities (Figure 4.8). Lithium
ion chemistry batteries represent the latest technology in that innovation journey.
First proposed in the 1970s and released commercially in 1991, (Li-Ion) batteries have
continued to develop an attempt to meet the demanding requirements of energy
technologies such as electric vehicles and electricity storage. This section briefly
describes the development of lithium ion batteries, from first concept to current day
commercial deployment.
Draw S-Curve for Product Metric vs Timeline
S Curve Li-Ion Battery
Technology Life Cycle
600
550 Maturity
500 Middle Web
450
Energy Density (Wh/Ltr)
400
350
300
Lower Leg
250
200
150
100
1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Years
Case Study on Technology Life Cycle- Lithium ion batteries
Lower Leg-Creation Invention Development
Lithium batteries were first proposed in the 1970s by M. Stanley Whittingham while
working for Exxon (Whittingham 1976). In 1973 research by Adam Heller resulted in the
development of the non-rechargeable lithium thionyl chloride battery (Heller 1975)
However, these early designs involved lithium metal, which is highly reactive, creating
safety concerns for wider commercial applications. To address these safety concerns the
next phase of battery development focused on battery chemistries involving non-metallic lithium
compounds capable of accepting and releasing ions.
The development of rechargeable lithium ion batteries required the development of
positive and negative electrodes that could utilise more stable lithium ions and the
reversible exchange of those ions, achieving recharging capability and safety. A number
of further technological advancements followed.
1979 - John Goodenough and Koichi Mizushima developed the lithium cobalt oxide
positive electrode, creating the possibility of replacing lithium metal (Mizushima et
al.1980).
Late 1970s - Work at the University of Pennsylvania and Bell labs demonstrated the
intercalation of lithium ions in a graphite electrode (Zanini et al. 1978).
1980 - Rachid Yazami demonstrated the reversibility of lithium ion intercalation in
graphite electrodes (Yazami and Touzain 1983).
1985 - a prototype of modern lithium cobalt oxide battery assembled by Akira
Yoshino, demonstrated the safety of lithium ion battery chemistries and opened up
the possibility of large scale commercial manufacture (Akira et al. 1987).
1991 – Sony released the first commercial lithium ion battery (Sony 1996).
Developing the use of phospho-olivines such as Lithium Iron Phosphate as an
inexpensive, non-toxic and environmentally benign alternative to the cobalt
chemistry positive electrodes used in early commercial lithium cells (Padhi et al.
1997).
The commercial release of a rechargeable lithium ion battery can be considered the end
of the early development of lithium ion batteries, a period lasting 15 years from the
early concepts in 1976 to the first commercial manufacture in 1991.
Middle Web-Growth
After the commercial introduction of lithium ion batteries in 1991 the market quickly
grew to become a significant part of the rechargeable battery market. A number of technological
improvements then arose as battery developers sought commercial advantage by improving aspects
of lithium ion battery performance. This highlights the concurrent nature of development and market
deployment. These improvements included,
Doping of phospho-olivines with aluminium, niobium and zirconium to improve
conductivity (Chung et al. 2002).
Improvement of the capacity and performance of phospho-olivine cells by utilising
Nano-scale iron (III) phosphate particles in the manufacturing process (Economist
2008).
In 2004 – Yet-Ming Chiang again increased performance by utilizing lithium iron phosphate
particles of less than 100 nanometres in diameter. This decreased particle density almost one
Case Study on Technology Life Cycle- Lithium ion batteries
hundredfold, increased the positive electrode's surface area and improved capacity and
performance. Commercialization led to a rapid growth in the market for higher capacity LIB
Though technological improvements to lithium ion batteries continued throughout the
early part of this century, their commercial success was already apparent, with sales of
lithium ion batteries reaching 50% of total rechargeable battery sales in 2000, and 80%
of rechargeable battery sales in 2007 and outselling all other types of rechargeable
battery from around 1998 (Figure 4.10) (Goonan 2012).
A large proportion of these batteries were sold in consumer electronic equipment such as telephones
and other small electrical appliances.
Maturity and Topping Off
Though lithium ion batteries could be considered commercially mature in consumer
electronics by 1998 the application of lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles has
experienced a slower route to commercialisation. This is largely as a result of the more
demanding requirements on electric vehicle batteries. Electric vehicle batteries are
required to be more energy dense, cheaper per kWh, and faster to recharge than
batteries used in consumer electronics applications (USABC 2014). While improvements
on all these fronts have been made in recent years, improvements are still needed to
achieve electric vehicles that provide similar utility and similar pricing in comparison to
existing vehicle types.
The first electric vehicle concepts to use lithium ion batteries were released in Japan in
1995 (Xia 2011). Commercial lithium ion vehicles would not be widely available till the
late 2000s.
By 2014 the electric vehicle fleet had grown to 0.8% of the global fleet, a
50% rise year on year, with the vast majority of those vehicles using lithium ion batteries
(IEA 2013).
Since first introduction the price of lithium ion electric vehicle batteries has
continuously improved. The energy density of lithium ion batteries has
been improving at approximately 5% per year (Noorden 2014).
The cost of lithium ion electric vehicle batteries has also been improving.
Case Study on Technology Life Cycle- Lithium ion batteries
The above Figure presents a systematic review of the costs of lithium ion battery technology over the
past decade, and the forecasts of future lithium ion costs out to 2030 demonstrating cost
reductions at ~14% year on year since 2006. Lithium ion cost data is presented in the
context of the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) medium term goals for electric
vehicle battery commercialisation of <$150/kWh.
At this stage it clear that the major player in the market is concentrating on improving the production
processes and making them cheaper. At this stage the Li-Ion Technology has reached its theoretical
limits the physical laws are now limiting further improvement in energy density.
Disruptive Technology
A new generation of battery chemistry is required to meet the ever-increasing demand of the battery
industry. There are many promising approaches for achieving it, the following are a few,
Solid Lithium Batteries
Normal lithium batteries use liquids as their electrolytes, for they are an excellent solvent and allow
easy ion transportation (and in fact can improve performance because of the structured nature). But
there is a price to pay for that ease: when they leak, it’s incredibly reactive to the air and therefore
destructive to the environment. But a solid electrolyte option was developed by Toyota that performs
as well as their liquid counterparts. The catch is that the material must be a crystal, for the lattice
structure it is made of provides the easy pathways the ions desire. Two such examples of these crystals
are Li9.54Si1.74P1.44S11.7C0.3 and Li9.6P3S12, and most of the batteries could work from -30o Celsius to
100o Celsius, better than the liquids. The solid options could also go through a charge/discharge cycle
in 7 minutes.
Nanobatteries
The battle for smaller and smaller technology goes on, and one development has exciting possibilities
for the future. Scientists have developed a battery that is a conglomeration of smaller nanobatteries
which provide a larger area for charging while decreasing transfer distances that will allow for the
battery to go through more charging cycles. Each of the nanobatteries is a nanotube with two
electrodes encapsulating a liquid electrolyte that has nanopores composed of anodic aluminum with
endpoints made of either V2O5 or a variant of it to make a cathode and an anode. This battery
produced about 80 microamp-hours per gram in terms of storage capacity and had about 80% of the
capacity to store charge after 1000 charging cycles.
Layered Batteries
In another advancement in nanotechnology, a nanobattery was developed by the team at Drexel’s
Department of Materials Science and Engineering. They created a layering technique where 1-2
atomic layers of some kind of transition metal are topped and bottomed by another metal, with
carbon acting like the connectors between them. This material has excellent energy storage
capabilities and has the added benefit of easy shape manipulation and can be used to make as little
as 25 new materials (Austin-Morgan).
Case Study on Technology Life Cycle- Lithium ion batteries
Aluminum Batteries
Another interesting battery material is aluminum, for it is cheap and readily available. However, the
electrolytes involved with it are really active and so a tough material is needed to interface with it.
Scientists from ETH Zurich and Empa found that titanium nitride offers a high level of conductivity
while standing up to the electrolytes. To top it off, the batteries can be made into thin strips and
applied at will. Another advancement was found with polypyrene, whose hydrocarbon chains allow
for a positive terminal to transfer charges easily (Kovalenko).
In a separate study, Sarbajit Banerjee (Texas A&M University) and team was able were able to develop
a "metal-oxide magnesium battery cathode material" that also shows promise. They started by looking
at vanadium pentoxide as a template for how their magnesium battery was to be distributed
throughout it. The design maximizes electron travel paths via metastability, encouraging elections to
travel on paths that would otherwise prove to be too challenging to the material we work with
(Hutchins).
