Silicon Anode Battery Offers More Energy Density than Graphite and More Stability than Lithium

 

Silicon anode battery technology is gaining popularity in the battery market. Factors supporting the growth of this market include highest known capacity and relatively low working potential of silicon along with extended battery life, faster charging and long lasting battery. Its high power density due to its high working voltage, excellent chemical makeup and stable non-dissipating environment are some of the driving forces that fuel the silicon battery industry. This is the reason why many industries ranging from automotive industry to medical devices prefer the usage of these batteries over the other existing batteries.

One of the most popular types of silicon anode battery is lithium–silicon battery. Silicon-based anodes offer more energy density than graphite and more stability than lithium. Silicon (Si) is a promising material due to its attractive theoretical specific capacity (>3500 mAh for Li-ion system) and low discharge potential (∼370 mV vs. Li/Li+). Silicon is known to have higher energy densities than other materials, which makes it ideal for high capacity cell phones. The higher energy density makes the silicon battery charging and discharging more efficient and thus cheaper to purchase as well. They also perform better than the Li-ion in specific high-power conditions.

Various companies are focused on R&D in silicon anode battery. In a quest to offer high energy density, Nexeon, the U.K.-based developer of engineered silicon materials for battery applications, is developing NSP-2, a silicon compound featuring engineered porosity at the particle level for use in concentrations far higher than 10% to yield an increase in cell energy density of up to 30% versus graphite. Moreover, various companies are also focused on R&D of silicon fiber anode materials. For instance, in June 2021, Unifrax, the U.S.-based manufacturer of high-performance specialty materials, announced plans to build its first large-scale SiFAB (silicon fiber anode material) manufacturing line at its north central Indiana facility.

However, silicon anode battery has its limitations that include loss of capacity, which is attributed to mechanical damage to the active material with a large volume change, > 300%, during cyclic work. Such drawbacks limit the use of these batteries.