Start-ups as technology life cycle indicator for the early stage of application: An analysis of the battery value chain

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Insights from battery research and development (R&D) need to be transferred into industrial application to create innovations and thus foster e.g. electro mobility. In terms of battery technology transfer, the early phase of application is particularly challenging due to the close intertwining between R&D and application. Therefore, the present study introduces start-ups as an additional indicator to capture the transition from science to industry within the technology life cycle. The findings show that despite highly dynamic R&D activities, technology transfer is only taking place on a very limited level. Surprisingly, start-ups focus on incremental improvements of existing technologies instead of introducing radical breakthrough-technologies. An analysis of the battery value chain reveals that opportunities for start-ups are rather located downstream in the value chain when integrating cells to battery systems and developing applications relying on innovative battery technologies. The findings contribute to the area of technology life cycle analysis explicitly using start-up companies as additional indicator for the critical transfer step from R&D to application. In a similar vein, technology forecasting literature, which is to date mainly focused on R&D, is expanded by a more application-centred perspective that allows identifying transfer opportunities along the technology value chain

Degradation Mechanism of Monocrystalline Ni-Rich Li[Ni x Mn y Co z ]O 2 (NMC) Active Material in Lithium Ion Batteries

Lithium ion batteries are the enabler for electric vehicles and, hereby, a sustainable and green mobility in the future. However, there are high requirements regarding electric vehicles which can be translated into great demands of life time and sustainibility on cell level. Ni-rich Li[NixMnyCoz]O2 (NMC), where x ≥ 0.6, became the state of the art electrode material for the positive electrode to meet energy and power demands. However, further optimization is required to increase the life time and safety of those materials. An approach is the change from polycrystalline NMC to single crystals to increase the intrinsic stability by suppressing degradation phenomena like particle cracking. In this work, we show that particle cracking is still an issue for monocrystalline Ni-rich NMC811 under moderate abusive conditions. Intragranular cracking, i.e. cracking within the primary particle, was revealed as a result of structural degradation of the NMC structure accompanied with oxygen release and cross-talks which affected the SEI and, ultimately, accelerated the ageing of the single crystal NMC811 containing cell compared to its polycrystalline counterpart

A review of the publication and patent landscape of anode materials for lithium ion batteries

For a successful transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles and from conventional power plants to renewable energy supply, battery technology plays a vital role. Accordingly, battery research and development (R&D) efforts have been increased considerably over the past decades, particularly regarding materials and cell chemistries to further improve the electrochemical performance of lithium ion batteries. The impetus behind such massive R&D has been the replacement of metallic lithium anodes, a notorious for potentially catastrophic shorting by lithium metal dendrites. However, despite the promise of a step improvement in energy density outperforming established LIB technology, the commercial introduction of cells with alternative anode materials in the mass market is slow. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present study is to provide an overview of current developments in the academic and industrial research arena, summarising the historical development of scientific literature and patent landscape beyond established anode materials. The study identifies and critically reviews tin, silicon, silicon oxide, aluminium and titanium-based anode materials as promising pathways to develop high-energy density next-generation LIBs

Self-assembled monolayers of Ru/Os dinuclear complexes: probing monolayer structure and interaction energies by electrochemical means

Monolayers of [Ru(bPY)(2)(mu-1)M(2)][PF6](4) salts (M = Os, Ru; bpy = 2,2`-bipyridine, 1 = 4`-(2,2`-bipyridin-4-yl)-2,2`:6`,2``-terpyridine, tpy = 2,2`:6`,2``-terpyridine, and 2= 4`-(4-pyridyl)-2,2`:6`,2``-terpyridine) were self-assembled on platinum and investigated by fast-scan electrochemistry. The electrochemistry of the complexes in solution and confined to the surface in self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) exhibited an almost ideal behavior. Scan-rate-dependent measurements of the peak current density (j(p)) were used to determine interaction energies within the monolayer. It is shown that the tpy coordination sites of the dinuclear complexes interact more strongly within the SAM than the bipyridine-coordinated fragments. This result was supported by peak potential shifts, which are due to interaction forces in SAMs. The alignment of the rodlike complexes relative to the surface is discussed, and the results of molecular mechanics calculations indicate that the species adopt a tilted orientation

Electrochemical probing of ground state electronic interactions in polynuclear complexes of a new heteroditopic ligand

The synthesis and electronic properties of dinuclear ([(bipy)(2)Ru(I)M(terpy)][PF6](4)(bipy = 2,2`-bipyridine, terpy = 2,2`: 6`, 2``-terpyridine; M = Ru, Os)) and trinuclear ([(bipy)(2)Ru(I)(2)M][PF6](6) M = Ru, Os, Fe, Co) complexes bridged by 4`-(2,2`-bipyridin-4-yl)-2,2`: 6`, 2``-terpyridine (I) have been investigated and are compared with those of mononuclear model complexes. The electrochemical analysis using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry reveals that there are no interactions in the ground state between adjacent metal centres. However, there is strong electronic communication between the 2,2`-bipyridine and 2,2`: 6`

A rod-like polymer containing {Ru(terpy)(2)} units prepared by electrochemical coupling of pendant thienyl moieties

A new rod-like coordination polymer consisting of {Ru-(terpy)(2)} motifs bridged by bithiophene units has been prepared by electrochemical polymerisation in acidic organic medium

A rod-like polymer containing {Ru(terpy)(2)} units prepared by electrochemical coupling of pendant thienyl moieties

A new rod-like coordination polymer consisting of {Ru-(terpy)(2)} motifs bridged by bithiophene units has been prepared by electrochemical polymerisation in acidic organic medium