SES (formerly known as SolidEnergy Systems), a developer of high-performance hybrid lithium-metal rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications (earlier post), unveiled Apollo, a 107 Ah Li-Metal battery that is the largest in the world and is targeted at the automotive industry.
SES also announced the largest Li-metal facility in the world. Scheduled for completion in 2023, the Shanghai Giga will be a 300,000 square-foot facility located in Shanghai, capable of producing 1 GWh of Li-Metal batteries annually.
SES made the announcements at SES Battery World, the company’s inaugural Battery World virtual event.
SES has addressed the dendrite safety problem associated with Li-metal batteries by coating lithium metal with a polymer coating and using a high-concentration electrolyte that suppresses the formation of dendrites. SES’ strategy is to dominate in the lithium metal battery market by first commercializing a hybrid method that combines a liquid electrolyte and a solid coating, which is easier to implement than an all-solid solution.
Apollo can deliver 107 Ah, weighs only 0.982 kg, and has an energy density of 417 Wh/kg and 935 Wh/L. Apollo also demonstrated similarly high capacity and energy density when tested at C/10 (10- hour discharge), C/3 (3-hour discharge), and 1C (1-hour discharge) at room temperature.
SES also introduced its 3 parallel development tracks:
Hermes (platform for material development). The Hermes Li-Metal battery cell is 24% lighter and 77% higher energy density than lithium-ion batteries in real-world driving tests.
Apollo (engineering capability for large automotive cells)
Avatar (AI-powered safety software to monitor battery health)
