South Korean startup SM Lab said on Wednesday that it has developed a battery cathode that has nickel account for 98% of the material.
Cobalt only accounts for 1% of the cathode, the company claimed.
The company expects production of the cathode to start sometime during the first half of 2022.
Increasing nickel use in cathode can increase the traveling distance per charge of electric vehicles.
South Korean battery makers __ LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI __ are all increasing the use of nickel in their battery cathodes.
The downside of increased use of nickel is that it increases the cathode’s vulnerability to fires.
SM Lab said it used ceramic coating and single crystal form to make sure the cathode is table.
The use of the techniques allows the cathode to be washed in water without some of its atoms dissolving.
The chemical reaction when pressing the cathode during battery production is also stable thanks to the techniques, SM Lab claimed.
Use of the cathode can increase battery capacities by 1600Ah, 16% higher than cathode with 90% nickel.
SM Lab was founded by UNIST professor Jaephil Cho in 2018. The startup has secured 64 billion won in funding so far.
