“With the current iteration of litium-ion designs reaching their energy density limits, there is considerable interest in anode materials like silicon and lithium-metal, which offer the potential for significant increases in lithium storage capacity and, therefore, energy density over batteries using graphite as the anode material,” explains Holland.

“Beyond energy density, battery manufacturers and automotive OEMs are also increasingly focused on improving fast charge capability,” Holland points out. “Here, silicon-based anodes can also hold an advantage over graphite, with numerous companies advertising and starting to demonstrate the possibility of reaching 10-minute fast charge capability.”

Solid-state batteries also continue to garner significant interest as one of the most promising next-generation battery technologies due to their ability for safer operation. Improvements to energy density are also possible with solid electrolyte technology, because it can help enable the use of high-energy lithium metal anodes.

“On the cathode front, efforts are focused on optimizing the balance between performance and cost,” says Holland. “For example, materials such as lithium manganese iron phosphate and lithium-manganese-rich layered oxides are being developed to bridge the gap between lower-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and higher-energy, high-nickel nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) cathode materials.

“Innovations to how cathode active materials are synthesized are also being explored to reduce cell costs and minimize the environmental impact of cathode and battery production,” adds Holland.