Northvolt targets zero-emission aviation with ‘superior’ lithium metal battery

Swedish low-carbon battery startup Northvolt is on a bit of a roll lately. Recently, the company revealed a new collaboration with Scania to produce the longest lasting EV batteries on the market. Now, its wholly-owned subsidiary Cuberg has unveiled a program to develop high-performance batteries to achieve “safe and sustainable” electric flight. 

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to zero-emission electric aviation is, apart from access to renewable energy, battery technology. Today’s batteries are, simply put, too inefficient and too heavy. 

However, Cuberg says it has already achieved significant milestones in its next-generation lithium metal cell battery technology. This involves a lithium metal anode and proprietary liquid electrolyte, which the company says simultaneously solves the interlocking challenges of battery performance and manufacturability. 

Furthermore, Cuberg says it will have “superior power and energy capabilities to today’s conventional lithium-ion batteries.” The aim is to develop a breakthrough lithium metal cell boasting an energy density of 1000 Wh/l by 2025. 

Significant achievements thus far include building and shipping a 20 Ah commercial-format lithium metal pouch cell with specific energy of 405 Wh/kg. Furthermore, the company has engineered and produced an aviation module based around the 20 Ah cells, with specific energy of 280 Wh/kg and energy density of 320 Wh/L. 

Importantly, the module platform has achieved what is called passive propagation resistance during a verification test campaign, which means it can resist the spread of a thermal runaway event from one cell to another.

Thermal runaway is one of the biggest safety concerns with lithiummetal cells, as it may cause the battery to catch fire or explode. As such, the verification is considered a key step when certifying batteries for aviation. 

Expanding lithium metal cell cycles

Meanwhile, lithium metal batteries, as opposed to lithium-ion, can only be recharged a few times before they become unusable. This may be cause for other sustainability concerns, given the environmental costs of lithium extraction. 

However, in a third-party validation in July last year, Cuberg’s cell cycle life was confirmed to have been extended to 672 cycles, with energy capacity of 380 Wh/kg, making it the world’s highest-performing and longest-lived lithium metal cell in a commercially representative cell size. 

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