Altairnano Begins Making High-Power Lithium Ion Battery Cells

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. has announced that its facility in Anderson, Ind., has begun manufacturing and testing the first batch of lithium ion battery cells manufactured at that facility using its nano-structured electrode materials. The Anderson facility is a rapid design, prototyping and applications lab for high-power, lithium ion cells, batteries and battery packs.

In the latest testing of its nano-structured battery cells, Altairnano has demonstrated that 90 percent of room temperature charge retention has been achieved at minus 30 degrees C, company officials said. Recharge at this temperature is unachievable in conventional lithium batteries, they said. In addition, conventional lithium ion batteries have the potential to suffer from thermal runaway issues potentially leading to catastrophic battery failure at temperatures above 130 degrees C.

Lithium ion batteries using Altairnano's nano-structured lithium titanate spinel electrodes do not experience thermal runaway at temperatures below 250 degrees C, significantly improving the safety performance of the batteries, officials said.

This performance characteristic as well as the batteries other attributes of rapid charge and discharge cycles, extended cycle life and environmental friendliness should be of interest in applications requiring performance at temperature extremes, such as in the aerospace and military markets, they said.

"Completing our first cell manufacturing run is a major milestone," said Altairnano President and Chief Executive Officer Alan J. Gotcher. "Altairnano continues to develop its nano-structured electrode materials and to work with its commercial partners and their customers to develop high power, safe large format lithium ion batteries that are expected to meet the needs of electric and hybrid electric vehicles and other power applications. The latest test data also supports our expectation that our battery materials could appeal to new or existing markets that require high power in extreme temperatures."

Altairnano is delivering battery technology that provides a unique combination of very high specific power (watts per kilogram) and high specific energy (watt-hours per kilogram) relative to other batteries conventionally used in power applications, officials said. The battery materials have demonstrated charge rates in a few minutes, lifecycles that exceed 10 years and power characteristics that company officials expect will enable them to be used in electric vehicles requiring fast acceleration and extended range.