BASF has received an ARPA-E award of $3,873,537 to develop metal hydride alloys using new, low-cost metals for use in high-energy nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Although NiMH batteries have been used in over 5 million vehicles with a proven record of long service life and abuse tolerance, their storage capacity is limited, which restricts driving range. BASF looks to develop a new NiMH design that will improve storage capacity and reduce fabrication costs through the use of inexpensive components. BASF will select new metals with a high energy storage capacity, then modify and optimize battery cell design. Once the ideal design has been established, BASF will evaluate methods for mass production and build a prototype 1kW-hour battery.
Today Li-ion batteries have an energy density of 230W-hrs per kilogram and costs upwards of $300 per kWh. The goal of the Tesla Gigafactory is to get that cost down closer to $200 per kWh. The goal of the BASF program is to achieve a NiMH battery that has 700 watt-hours per kilogram (10 times the energy density of today’s NiMH batteries) and a cost of only $150 per kWh.
Driving range, safety, and cost remain the biggest hurdles in the way of mass electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Innovative approaches to EV battery manufacturing present the opportunity to maximize stored energy relative to the weight of EVs, allowing for up to three times the driving range. These new battery chemistries and designs prevent overheating, are immune to catastrophic failure, and can be incorporated into the structure of a vehicle to improve strength in some cases. Much of this can be accomplished at a 30% lower cost compared to conventional batteries, thus bolstering widespread adoption of EVs.
If successful, BASF's components could offer both lower cost and improved capacity while maintaining many of the traditional characteristics of NiMH batteries, including simple design, low weight, and long service life. The mass adoption of EVs would diminish the demand for petroleum, dramatically reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. reater use of EVs would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 28% of which come from the transportation sector. BASF’s partners in this development effort include: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Strategic Analysis, Inc., and Wayne State University.
