Metal-anode energy-storage cells having cathodes that include both nickel oxide and metal phosphate active materials, and related devices and methods

Abstract

Electrochemical energy-storage cells that include cores having cathode-active materials of both nickel-oxide (NO) type and metal-based phosphate (MP) type, wherein the MP active material is provided to increase resistance to thermal runaway. In some embodiments: the NO and MP active materials are provided on differing cathodes; cathodes include a blend of the NO and MP active materials; a weight ratio of MP active material to NO active material varies within a cathode-active layer, in some cases with a weight percentage of MP active material increasing in a direction away from a current collector; cathodes include a cathode-active layer having multiple sublayers having differing uniform blends of NO and MP materials; cathodes include discrete NO and MP layers, with some embodiments having the NO layer located between the MP layer and a current collector; and / or cathodes include particles each composed of both NO and MP active materials. Methods are also disclosed.

Description

METAL- ANODE ENERGY- STORAGE CELLS HAVING CATHODES THAT INCLUDE BOTH NICKEL OXIDE AND METAL PHOSPHATE ACTIVE MATERIALS, AND RELATED DEVICES AND METHODSRELATED APPLICATION DATA

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 669,861, filed on July 11, 2024, and titled “Metal-Anode Energy- Storage Cells Having Cathodes That Include Both Nickel Oxide and Metal Phosphate Active Materials, and Related Devices and Methods,” and U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application No. 18 / 583,740, filed on February 21, 2024, and titled “Electrochemical Energy-Storage Cells Having Differing Cathodes Composed of Differing Active Materials, and Battery Modules That Include the Same”. Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to electrochemical energy storage cells. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to metal-anode energy-storage cells having cathodes that include both nickel oxide and metal phosphate active materials, and related devices and methods.BACKGROUND

[0003] With the fast expansion of the electric vehicle (EV) market, customers are asking for a longer cruise range, which is closely related to battery energy density. To improve the energy density, in addition to replacing the traditional graphite anodes with higher capacity materials, such as lithium (Li) metal or silicon (Si), a widely acknowledged approach is using NMC (nickel- manganese-cobalt oxide) cathodes that have high concentrations of nickel (Ni) (high-Ni NMC). Compared with NMC111 (Ni:Mn:Co = 1:1 :1), whose capacity is about 170 mAh / g, NMC900505 (Ni:Mn:Co = 90:5:5) can deliver a specific capacity of 220 mAh / g, indicative of a -30% improvement in cell energy density. By combining Li-metal anodes with high-Ni NMC cathodes, the resulting battery cells have the potential to reach an energy density of over 1000 Wh / L and a specific energy of over 400 Wh / kg, which are much higher than the state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries.

[0004] However, Li-ion and Li-metal cells having NMC cathodes usually exhibit severe thermal-runaway events due to NMC structural collapse and resulting oxygen release at relatively low temperatures. Furthermore, when moving to a higher Ni concentration, the crystal structure ofthe NMC becomes increasingly unstable, and oxygen tends to be released at lower temperatures, leading to worse thermal stability.

[0005] A counterpart to NMC is lithium metal phosphates, such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), which are a much safer cathode-active material because they do not release oxygen. However, LFP and LMFP are unable to deliver high energy due to lower specific capacity (-160 mAh / g) and lower working voltage. Using only LFP cathodes or only LMFP cathodes also has other negative impacts such as worse high-power performance and worse low-temperature performance. So far, there is no effective way to improve intrinsic cell safety with minimum sacrifice of energy density, power density, and / or other properties.SUMMARY

[0006] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a method of reducing severity of thermal runaway in a metal-anode energy-storage cell. The method includes forming a plurality of cathodes each comprising a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material, wherein the NO and MP active materials are provided in amounts relative to one another determined from thermal-runaway testing; and incorporating the plurality of cathodes into the metal-anode energy-storage cell.

[0007] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a core for an electrochemical energy-storage cell. The core includes a plurality of anodes; and a plurality of cathodes stacked with the plurality of anodes, each of the cathodes comprising at least one cathode-active layer that includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material, wherein the NO and MP active materials are provided in amounts relative to one another determined from thermal-runaway testing.

[0008] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to an electrochemical energystorage cell, which includes a housing; an electrolyte contained within the housing; and a core as described above, wherein the core is contained in the housing and is in operative relationship with the electrolyte.

[0009] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a battery module having an energy output, which includes a housing; and a plurality of the electrochemical energy-storage cells described above contained within the housing and electrically connected with one another so as to provide the energy output.

[0010] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a cathode for an electrochemical energy-storage cell containing an electrolyte. The cathode includes a current collector; and a first cathode-active layer applied to the current collector, the first cathode-active layer having a first side confronting the current collector and a second side spaced from the first side and exposed to the electrolyte when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell; wherein the first cathode-active layer includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material incorporated into the first cathode-active layer so that, when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell, the MP active material is located between the electrolyte and the NO active material.

[0011] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a cathode for an electrochemical energy-storage cell containing an electrolyte. The cathode includes a current collector; and a first cathode-active layer applied to the current collector, the first cathode-active layer having a first side confronting the current collector and a second side spaced from the first side and exposed to the electrolyte when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell; wherein the first cathode-active layer includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material mixed with one another and incorporated into the first cathodeactive layer so that, when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell, a first region of the first cathode-active layer proximate to the first side has a first MP:N0 weight ratio and a second region of the first cathode-active layer proximate to the second side has a second MP:N0 weight ratio that is greater than the first MP:N0 weight ratio.

[0012] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a core for an electrochemical energy-storage cell that, during use, provides energy output to an external load. The core includes a plurality of anodes; a plurality of cathodes, wherein: at least one first cathode of the plurality of cathodes comprises nickel-containing-oxide (NO) active material; and at least one second cathode of the plurality of cathodes comprises metal-containing-phosphate (MP) active material; and a plurality of separators; wherein: the plurality of anodes, the plurality of cathodes, and the plurality of separators are arranged to form a stack in which each of the plurality of separators is located between a corresponding anode-cathode pair composed of one of the plurality of anodes and one of the plurality of cathodes; and when the core is incorporated into the electrochemical energy-storage cell, at least one of the second cathodes never participates in the energy output of the electrochemical energy-storage cell.

[0013] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to an electrochemical energystorage cell, which includes a housing; an electrolyte contained within the housing; and a core as described above, wherein the core is contained in the housing and is in operative relationship with the electrolyte.

[0014] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a battery module having an energy output, which includes a housing; and a plurality of the electrochemical energy-storage cells contained within the housing and electrically connected with one another so as to provide the energy output.

[0015] In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a method of constructing an electrochemical energy-storage cell. The method includes constructing a core having a plurality of cathodes by: providing a plurality of first cathodes that each comprise a nickel-containing-oxide (NO) active material; determining a number of second cathodes that each comprise a metal- containing-phosphate (MP) active material so as to achieve a desired level of thermal-runaway safety of the electrochemical energy-storage cell; providing the number of second cathodes; providing a plurality of separators; providing a plurality of anodes; and forming the core using the plurality of first cathodes, the number of the second cathodes, the plurality of separators, and the plurality of anodes.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] For the purpose of illustration, the accompanying drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments of the disclosure. However, it should be understood that the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein:

[0017] FIG. 1 is a graph of temperature versus time for a baseline lithium-metal secondary cell having 32 lithium-metal anodes and 31 cathodes each composed of nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) active material, wherein the cell was heated at a rate of 5°C / min until thermal runaway occurred, showing that thermal runaway began at 220°C;

[0018] FIG. 2 is a graph of temperature versus time for a lithium-metal secondary cell in which 7 of the 31 NMC cathodes of the cell of FIG. 1 were replaced with cathodes composed of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) active material, wherein the cell was heated at a rate of 5°C / min until thermal runaway occurred, showing that thermal runaway began at 348°C;

[0019] FIG. 3 is a graph of temperature versus time for a lithium-metal secondary cell in which 11 of the 31 NMC cathodes of the cell of FIG. 1 were replaced with LFP cathodes and the cell was heated at a rate of 5°C / min until thermal runaway occurred, showing that thermal runaway began at 401 °C;

[0020] FIG. 4 is a graph of temperature versus time for a lithium-metal secondary cell in which 15 of the 31 NMC cathodes of the cell of FIG. 1 were replaced with LFP cathodes and the cell was heated at a rate of 5°C / min until thermal runaway occurred, showing that thermal runaway began at 401 °C;

[0021] FIG. 5 is a graph of temperature versus time for a lithium-metal secondary cell in which all of the 31 NMC cathodes of the cell of FIG. 1 were replaced with LFP cathodes and the cell was heated at a rate of 5°C / min until thermal runaway occurred, showing that thermal runaway began at 434°C;

[0022] FIG. 6 is a graph of thermal-runaway temperature versus percentage of LFP cathodes relative to the total number of cathodes, showing the effect of the percentage of LFP cathodes on thermal-runaway temperature;

[0023] FIG. 7A is a photograph of the baseline cell of FIG. 1 during thermal runaway, showing the resulting high-intensity burning of the cell;

[0024] FIG. 7B is a photograph of the cell of FIG. 2 during thermal runaway, showing the reduced intensity of the resulting fire and the impact of having -20% of the 31 cathodes being LFP cathodes;

[0025] FIG. 8A is an idealized diagram of an electrochemical cell made in accordance with the present disclosure and thereby having a core comprising cathodes or cathode arrangements of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 8B is an idealized diagram of a battery module composed of a plurality of the electrochemical cells of FIG. 8A;

[0027] FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with O- cathodes and P-cathodes alternating with one another so as to provide the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of 50%;

[0028] FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with adjacent P- cathodes being spaced apart from one another by three intervening O-cathodes so as to provide the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of 25%;

[0029] FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with adjacent P-cathodes being spaced apart from one another by five intervening O-cathodes so as to provide the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of about 19%;

[0030] FIG. 9D is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with P- cathodes being located only at the opposite ends of the core stack and in a number that provides the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of about 38%;

[0031] FIG. 9E is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with P- cathodes being located at one end of the core stack and provided in a number that provides the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of about 31%;

[0032] FIG. 9F is a cross-sectional view of a cell core composed of 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 dielectric separators located between adjacent ones of the anodes and cathodes, with side-by- side pairs of P-cathodes being spaced apart from one another by four intervening O-cathodes so as to provide the cell core with a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of about 38%;

[0033] FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating the making of a cell core using cathodes that each include a blend of nickel oxide (NO) and metal phosphate (MP) active materials;

[0034] FIG. 10B is an enlarged cross-sectional partial view of a cathode having a current collector and gradated layers of NO and MP active materials in which the weight ratio of MP active material to NO active material increases in a direction away from the current collector;

[0035] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the making of a cell core using cathodes that each include discrete layers of NO and MP active materials;

[0036] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the making of a cell core using cathodes that each include particles composed of NO active material coated with MP active material.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical content of the appended claims is incorporated by reference into this Detailed Description section so that such content is included herein as if it were literally present in this section.

[0038] It is noted that throughout the present disclosure and the appended claims, the term “about”, when used with a corresponding numeric value, refers to ±20% of the numeric value, typically ±10% of the numeric value, often ±5% of the numeric value, and more often ±2% of the numeric value. In some embodiments, the term “about” means the numeric value itself.

[0039] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “cathode” covers the combination of cathode-active material and any current collector(s) provided for that cathode in any given cathode layer of a core of an electrochemical energy-storage cell. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that a cathode may contain one or more other components, such as one or more inert components and / or one or more components for enhancing performance of the cathode and / or for constructing the core, among others. Examples of cathodes of the present disclosure include cathodes having a current collector layer sandwiched between two active-material layers and cathodes having a current collector and a single active-material layer located on one face of the current collector, among others.

[0040] I. MIXED OXIDE- AND PHOSPHATE-TYPE CATHODES

[0041] LA OVERVIEW

[0042] In some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to core stacks of electrochemical energy-storage cells in which each core stack includes multiple anodes, multiple dielectric separators, and multiple cathodes all stacked with one another to form a functional core and wherein the cathodes comprise at least one cathode composed of a cathode-active material that is different from the cathode-active material of at least one other of the cathodes. The electrochemical energystorage cells, or simply “cells” hereinafter, may be any type of cells, including, but not limited to cells based on alkali-metal-ion flow, such as lithium-ion flow, sodium-ion flow, and potassium-ion flow, among others, or the flow of ions of one or more other chemical species. In addition, the electrodes of cells of the present disclosure may be based on plating and stripping or intercalation and de- intercalation or a combination thereof, and / or other type of ion accumulation and deaccumulation. For example, a cell of the present disclosure may be a lithium-ion cell or a lithium- metal cell, among others, each of which may be a secondary cell or a primary cell. It is noted thatthe term “core” as used herein and in the appended claims covers any sort of core for a cell that includes multiple layers comprising anode layers, separator layers, and cathode layers located immediately adjacent to one another to at least have the appearance of a stack of such layers. Consequently, a “core” of the present disclosure includes truly stacked cores each composed of individual sheets defining the various layer, cores formed by the Z-fold method, and “jellyroll” cores, among others.

[0043] Improving the safety of cells, such as Li cells (including both Li-ion and Li-metal cells), with high-nickel (Ni) cathodes is a critical step toward long-range electric vehicles (EVs). However, no method appears to have been developed to effectively improve safety with minimal impacts on energy density. An aim of the present disclosure is to improve cell intrinsic safety by mixing cathode types within a cell’s core in a certain ratio. In some embodiments, one of the cathode types is a high-nickel-content-oxide type, or “O type”, and another of the types is a metal-phosphate type, or “P type”. The present inventors have unexpectedly discovered that by providing a cell with both O- and P-type cathodes (or more simply, “O-cathodes” and “P-cathodes” hereinafter) in certain ratios, the one or more P-cathodes can reduce the amount of oxygen available during thermal runaway, scavenge flammable gases, and / or discharge the O-cathodes at high temperature, while also minimizing the negative effect that the P-cathode(s) present would have on the energy density of the cell.

[0044] At a high level, the P-cathode(s) is / are electrically connected to the O-cathodes and have the ability to scavenge flammable / explosive gases, prevent heat propagation, and / or discharge the O- cathodes under abuse conditions. This can either cut off the thermal runaway chain reaction and / or improve the materials’ thermal stability, leading to better thermal-runaway safety at the cell level. Since the thickness, proportion, and materials of the P-cathode(s) can be flexibly adjusted, it is possible to achieve cell intrinsic thermal-runaway safety with minimal impacts on the energy density and electrochemical performance of the cell. Testing has shown that the thermal runaway temperature can be increased and the severity can be decreased by using proper mixing methods.

[0045] In some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to methods of designing cells to improve their thermal-runaway safety. As mentioned above and discussed in more detail below, thermal-runaway safety can be improved by raising the thermal-runaway-initiation temperature, causing one or more certain cathodes within the cells to discharge quicker, and / or absorbing gas generated during elevated temperature events, among others.

[0046] In some embodiments, the thermal-runaway safety of a cell is improved by designing a cell that would otherwise include only O-cathodes to include one or more P-cathodes, wherein each P-cathode is composed of a cathode-active material that improves, relative to a baseline cell having only O-cathodes, the thermal-runaway safety of the cell. By “baseline cell”, it is meant that the baseline cell is identical to a corresponding P-cathode-containing cell in every respect other than the fact that it does not include any P-cathodes. Detailed examples of how one or more P-cathodes can be included in a cell are presented below. Relatedly, in some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to methods of constructing a cell having improved thermal-runaway by including one or more P-cathodes within a design that is otherwise based on O-cathodes.

[0047] I.A.l Working Principles

[0048] As alluded to above, a goal of the present disclosure is to improve safety of high-energy cells, such as high-energy Li cells (including both Li-ion and Li metal cells), by mixing P- and O- cathodes with one another in a cell’s core. Without necessarily limiting this disclosure to any particular theories of operation, this goal appears to depend on the following operating mechanism:1) Metal phosphates have very stable crystal structures that do not release oxygen at high temperatures. Therefore, the inclusion of one or more P-cathodes in a core improves the thermal stability of the high-Ni O-cathodes.2) Metal phosphates may react with the gases generated within the cell, reducing the total gas amount and consuming flammable / explosive gases.3) Metal phosphates may trigger shuttling effects or other side reactions under abuse conditions such as at high temperatures, which may discharge the electrically connected O-cathodes to a lower state of charge and thereby improve the thermal stability of the cathode-active material of the O-cathodes.These mechanisms can either work alone or together.

[0049] To demonstrate efficacy of mixing cathode types within a particular cell core, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) based cathodes were mixed with nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) based cathodes. The LFP cathodes were inserted into the cells with a liquid electrolyte in differing ratios relative to the NMC cathodes. The test cells were originally designed to contain only NMC cathodes, such that the inserted LFP cathodes replaced various ones of the original NMC cathodes. Then, the cells were heated at 5°C / min until thermal runaway was initiated. For the cell not having any LFP cathodes inserted, this 4 Ah (31 layers of NMC cathodes and 32 layers of Li-metal anodes)cell went to thermal runaway at 220°C, as seen in FIG. 1. When one LFP cathode was inserted between every 4 NMC cathodes (in total, 7 layers of LFP cathodes and 24 layers of NMC cathodes, i.e., the LFP cathodes were -20% of all cathodes), the thermal runaway temperature increases to 348°C, as seen in FIG. 2. When the ratio of the LFP cathodes to total number of cathodes was increased to 33.3 %, indicating that every two NMC cathodes had one corresponding LFP cathode (in total, 11 layers of LFP cathodes and 20 layers of NMC cathodes), the thermal runaway temperature increased to 401 °C, as seen in FIG. 3. When the ratio of LFP cathodes further increased to -50% relative to the NMC cathodes and the NMC cathodes and the LFP cathodes were stacked alternatingly and interdigitatingly with one another, the thermal runaway temperature had a minor increase to 401 °C, as seen in FIG. 4.

[0050] When all the NMC cathodes were replaced by LFP cathodes, the thermal runaway temperature increases to 434°C (FIG. 5). This testing revealed that adding a few LFP cathodes, relative to the total number of cathodes, can notably increase the thermal runaway temperature, with the trend showing a logarithmic pattern (FIG. 6). In addition, in FIGS. 2 through 5, when LFP cathodes are provided, the cell voltage showed an early decrease around 150°C, which supports the above-mentioned theory that metal phosphates may trigger shuttling effects or other side reactions to discharge the electrically-connected NMC to a lower state of charge and thereby improve the thermal stability of the NMC cathodes.

[0051] In addition to the increased thermal runaway temperature, the severity of thermal runaway can also be reduced by including one or more LFP cathodes among the NMC cathodes of a cell’s core. As shown in FIG. 7A, the benchmark cell of FIG. 1 containing only NMC cathodes had a very aggressive burning at the thermal runaway. In contrast and as shown in FIG. 7B, the cell of FIG. 2 made in accordance with the present disclosure that had -20% of the total number of cathodes being LFP cathodes exhibited only flame and smoke after the thermal runaway, without the sound of the explosion. These results demonstrate that mixing one or more metal-phosphate-based cathodes, such as LFP cathodes, with nickel-containing-oxide-based cathodes, such as NMC cathodes, can effectively reduce the severity of the thermal runaway event.

[0052] Nail penetration tests were also performed. While the benchmark cell having only NMC cathodes exploded after a 10 mm / s nail penetration tests (using a 3mm-diameter stainless steel nail), the above-mentioned cell having 11% of the cathodes as LFP cathodes passed the 40 mm / s nail penetration tests without triggering any thermal event after the nail penetrated the center of the cell.This result demonstrates that mixing one or more metal-phosphate-based cathodes, such as LFP cathodes, with nickel-containing-oxide-based cathodes, such as NMC cathodes, is also helpful in improving the safety of cells in penetration events.

[0053] I B GENERAL EXAMPLES

[0054] In some embodiments, there are two differing cathode-active materials used on differing ones of the cathodes, namely, a nickel-containing-oxide (NO) active material and a metal- containing-phosphate (MP) active material. The NO active material can be any suitable metal-based oxide that includes nickel. This includes pure nickel oxide and nickel in combination with one or more other metals, such as manganese and cobalt, among others. When the NO active material contains nickel in combination with one or more other metals other than the active-species metal of the ionic flow within the cell, the nickel may be present in a stoichiometric percentage relative to the metal content only, up to 100%.

[0055] In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use an NMC as the NO active material. The general formula for NMC is MNixMny,Coi-x-yO2, wherein M is the active-species metal of the cell (such as Li or Na, for example), 1 > x > 0, and 1 > y > 0. In some embodiments, x is greater than about 0.4, greater than about 0.5, greater than about 0.6, greater than about 0.7, greater than about 0.8, greater than about 0.85, or greater than about 0.9 or is equal to about 0.95. In some embodiments, x is in a range of about 0.5 to about 0.95, in a range of about 0.6 to about 0.95, in a range of about 0.7 to about 0.95, in a range of about 0.9 to about 0.95, or in a range of about 0.5 to about 0.95. In some nonlimiting embodiments, the NMC may be, for example, NMC950302 (95% Ni; Ni:Mn:Co = 95:03:02) NMC900505 (90% Ni, as noted above), NMC811 (80% Ni; Ni:Mn:Co = 80: 10: 10), NMC622 (60% Ni; Ni:Mn:Co = 60:20:20), or NMC532 (50% Ni; Ni:Mn:Co = 50:30:20), among others.

[0056] The MP active material can be any suitable metal-based phosphate. Examples of metals that can be used in the MP active material include transition metals, such as, but are not limited to, iron (Fe), Mn, Co, chromium (Cr), or Ni, and post-transition metals, such as aluminum (Al) and gallium (Ga), among others, or any combination or subcombination thereof. For example the MP active material may be iron phosphate (FP) or manganese iron phosphate (MFP), among many other possibilities, and any combination thereof. When the active species of the cell is lithium, the MP active material may be a lithiated version of the underlying MP. For example, the MP may be LFP or LMFP, or a combination of LFP and LMFP. Other examples of MP active materials include, butare not limited to, FePC , Zns(PO4)2, Mgs(PO4)2, Cu3(PO4)2, AIPO4, and Ni2(PO4)3, among others. As noted, the MP active material can be a mixed metal phosphate, such as, Fei-xMnxP04, wherein 1 > x > 0, among others.

[0057] The amount of NO active material present within the cathode-active material of a given cathode can range from greater than 0% to 100% by stoichiometric percentage relative to the total amount of the active materials in the cathode-active material. For example, the amount of NO active material may be in a range of about 50% to 100%, in a range of about 60% to 100%, in a range of about 70% to 100%, in a range of about 80% to 100%, or in a range of about 90% to 100%, among others. In some embodiments, an NO-active-material-containing cathode-active material may be composed of an MP active material. In some embodiments, the NO active material makes up 100% of the active material in the cathode-active material of a given cathode.

[0058] Similarly, the amount of MP active material present within the cathode-active material of a given cathode can range from greater than 0% to 100% by stoichiometric percentage relative to the total amount of the active materials in the cathode-active material. For example, the amount of MP active material may be in a range of about 50% to 100%, in a range of about 60% to 100%, in a range of about 70% to 100%, in a range of about 80% to 100%, or in a range of about 90% to 100%, among others. In some embodiments, an MP-active-material-containing cathode-active material may be composed of an NO active material. In some embodiments, the MP active material makes up 100% of the active material in the cathode-active material of a given cathode. In some examples, when the cathode-active material is 100% MP active material, the MP active material may be provided as a layer of any suitable thickness, such as in a range of about 5 microns to about 200 microns, among others.

[0059] The number, P, of cathodes containing MP active material included in a given core having a total number, C, of cathodes can be expressed as a %-ratio, R = P / C x 100, wherein 0% <R<100%, wherein, in some embodiments, the balance of the cathodes not containing any MP active material are cathodes containing NO active material. In some embodiments it is desirable to include fewer cathodes containing MP active material than cathodes containing NO active material. This is so when the MP-active-material-containing cathodes, i.e., here, the “P-cathodes”, have a lower specific capacity than the NO-active-material-containing cathodes, i.e., here, the “O- cathodes”. In these embodiments R is less than 50%, such as less than about 40%, less than about30%, less than about 20%, less than about 10%, or less than about 5%, among other percentages, depending, for example, on the composition of the NO active material.

[0060] The arrangement of the differing cathodes relative to one another can be executed in any one of a variety of ways. For example, in the context of P-cathodes and O-cathodes, the P-cathodes can be interdigitated with the O-cathodes and deployed singly relative to one another so that immediately adjacent ones of the P-cathodes are separated by one or more O-cathodes. In some embodiments, two or more P-cathodes may be located adjacent to one another, i.e., without any intervening O-cathode. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that there is a wide variety of ways in which P-cathodes and O-cathodes can be arranged relative to one another in a particular cell core.

[0061] In some embodiments, the P-cathodes are electrically connected with the O-cathodes in a manner such that when the cell is electrically connected to an external load, both the O-cathodes and the P-cathodes participate in providing the energy output of the cell to the external load. In some embodiments, the P-cathodes are not electrically connected, therefore, only the O-cathodes participate in providing the energy output of the cell to the external load. In such latter embodiments, the P-cathodes may be considered idle and inactive relative to the energy output of the cell to an external load. In some embodiments, the P-cathodes are permanently not electrically connected to participate in the energy output of the cell to an external load. In some embodiments, the P-cathodes are switchable between being electrically connected and not being electrically connected to participate in the energy output of the cell to an external load. In some embodiments, when multiple O-cathodes and multiple P-cathodes are provided to a cell and the cell is electrically connected to an external load, the O-cathodes and P-cathodes are electrically connected or not, as the case may be, such that all of the O-cathodes and fewer than all of the P-cathodes participate in the output of the cell to the external load. In some embodiments wherein a plurality of P-cathodes are provided, the cell is configured to allow the number of P-cathodes that participate in the energy output of the cell to an external load to be changed after the cell has been manufactured. Similar to above, each P-cathode not participating in providing energy output of the cell may be considered idle or inactive. In some embodiments, each P-cathode that does not participate in providing energy output of the cell may be manufactured in a way that such P-cathode never participates in providing energy output of the cell.

[0062] I.C DETAILED EXAMPLES

[0063] FIG. 8A illustrates an example cell 800 having a core 804 contained within a suitable housing 808. The cell 800 may be of any suitable type, such as any of the types mentioned above, for example a pouch type (e.g., with the core 804 being a stacked core, a Z-fold core, etc.) a cylindrical type (e.g., with the core being a wound type, a jellyroll type, etc.), or a prismatic type (e.g., with the core being a stacked core, a Z-fold core, etc.), among others. Correspondingly, the housing 808 may be of any suitable and corresponding type, such as a pouch or a cylindrical container or a prismatic container, among others. Fundamentally, there are no limitations on the form of the cell 800. As discussed above, in some embodiments the core 804 has multiple cathodes (not shown), with at least one of the cathodes being of a type different from at least one other cathode. For example, the differing cathodes may be of the O and P types described above and illustrated below. The cell 800 includes positive and negative terminals 804P and 804N, respectively, that electrically connect the corresponding ones of the anodes and cathodes within the core 804 to the exterior of the cell.

[0064] The cell further includes an electrolyte 812, which may be any electrolyte suitable for the type and chemistry of the particular version of the cell 800 at issue. In the example shown, the electrolyte 812 is a liquid electrolyte composed of one or more anhydrous organic solvents, one or more salts with the appropriate active species, and / or one or more suitable additives. While the electrolyte 812 is illustrated as a liquid, in other embodiments the electrolyte may be or further provided in one or more other forms, such as a gel and / or a solid. Fundamentally, there are no constraints on the electrolyte, liquid, solid, or a mixture of solid and liquid. Nonlimiting examples of electrolytes that electrolyte 812 can be or contain include, but are not limited to any one or more of the electrolytes disclosed in International Publication No. WO 2023 / 131930 titled “ELECTROLYTES CONTAINING AN AMIDE-BASED SOLVENT SYSTEM, AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICES INCORPORATING SUCH ELECTROLYTES, published on July 13, 2023, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2024 / 0030493, titled “ELECTROLYTES HAVING NON-FLUORINATED HYBRID-ETHER COSOLVENT SYSTEMS, METHODS OF MAKING SUCH ELECTROLYTES, AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICES UTILIZING SUCH ELECTROLYTES,” published on January 25, 2024, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2024 / 0014446, titled “SULFONYL-BASED ELECTROLYTE SOLVENTS ELECTROLYTES MADE THEREWITH, AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICES MADE USING SUCH ELECTROLYTES,” published on January 11, 2024, U.S. Patent No. 10,615,457, titled“ELECTROLYTE SYSTEM FOR HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY”, issued on April 7, 2020, U.S. Patent No. 11,196,088, titled “LOCALIZED HIGH-SALT-CONCENTRATION ELECTROLYTES CONTAININER LONGER-SIDECHAIN GLYME-BASED SOLVENTS AND FLUORINATED DILUENTS, AND USES THEREOF”, issued on December 7, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein for its teachings on electrolytes.

[0065] FIG. 8B illustrates a battery module 816 that can be made by providing multiple ones of the cell 800 of FIG. 8 A within a suitable housing 820. The battery module 816 may be any type of battery module that is composed of multiple cells, here, cells 800, and is designed to suit a particular design. For example, the battery module 816 may be a standalone battery or a battery pack that is part of a larger battery composed of multiple battery packs electrically connected together with one another. The cells 800 are electrically connected together with one another in electrical series and / or electrical parallel using one or more positive bus bars (singly and collectively represented at positive bus bar 824P) and one or more negative bus bars (singly and collectively represented at negative bus bar 824N) so as to achieve the design electrical output characteristics of the battery module. Those skilled in the art will readily understand how to electrically connect the multiple cells 800 with one another to achieve the design electrical output characteristics of the battery module 816. The battery module 816 also includes positive and negative output terminals 828P and 828N that, respectively, are electrically connected to the positive and negative bus bar 824P and 824N for electrically connecting the battery module to another battery module (not shown) and / or a load (not shown) that the battery module is designed to power. Not shown are components that may be provided to support the operation of the battery module 816, such as, but not limited to, one or more sensor systems (e.g., a temperature monitoring sensor system), and onboard electronics, such as a battery management system, among other things. Those skilled in the art will readily understand what additional components that the battery module 816 will need to include for any particular design.

[0066] FIGS. 9A through 9F illustrate, respectively, example cores 900A through 900F. In each case, each core has 17 anodes, 16 cathodes, and 17 separators, with some of the cathodes being O- cathodes and some of the cathodes being P-cathodes that each can be any of the O-and P-cathodes described above. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that each of the cores 900A through 900F can be used in any suitable cell, such as the cell 800 of FIG. 8A, among others. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the numbers of anodes, cathodes, and separators illustrated in these examples have been selected for illustration purposes only and that actual cores made in accordance with the present disclosure may have more or fewer of each of these components.Moreover, those skilled in the art will understand that FIGS. 9A through 9F are simplifications of actual cores and, therefore, lack details, such as, among other things, current collectors and corresponding tabs and other layers that may be separate from or incorporated into one or more of the anodes, cathodes, and separators. Such additional components are beyond the scope of this disclosure but within the knowledge of those having ordinary skill in the art, such that they do not need to be described herein for those skilled in the art to make and use cores, cells, and battery modules of the present disclosure without undue experimentation.

[0067] Each of the anodes of FIGS. 9A through 9F can be any suitable type of anode, such as the anodes described above. Similarly, each of the cathodes of FIGS. 9A through 9F, including the O-cathode and P-cathode species, may be any of the cathodes, O-cathodes, and P-cathodes discussed above. Likewise, each of the separators shown in FIGS. 9A through 9F can be any suitable dielectric separator comprising any one or more suitable materials such as, but by no means limited to, a polyethylene, a polypropylene, and a ceramic, among others.

[0068] FIG. 9A shows the core 900A as having O-cathodes and P-cathodes located so that they are interdigitated with one another in a sequentially alternating manner so that there are 8 P-cathode out of 16 total cathodes for a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of 50%. FIG. 9B shows the core 900B as having 4 P-cathodes with immediately adjacent ones of the P-cathodes separated by three intervening O-cathodes. This gives the core 900B a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of 25%. FIG. 9C shows the core 900C as having 3 P-cathodes with immediately adjacent ones of the P-cathodes separated by five intervening O-cathodes. This gives the core 900C a %-ratio of P- cathodes to total cathodes of about 19%. FIG. 9D shows the core as having 6 P-cathodes, with 3 of the P-cathodes being located at each end of the core stack. This give the core 900D a %-ratio of about 38%. FIG. 9E shows the core as having 5 P-cathodes all located at one end of the core stack. This give the core 900E a %-ratio of about 31%. FIG. 9F shows the core 900F as having 3 pairs of P-cathodes with immediately adjacent ones of the P-cathode pairs separated by four intervening O- cathodes. This gives the core 900F a %-ratio of P-cathodes to total cathodes of about 38%. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the four illustrated arrangements of P-cathodes and O- cathodes are merely exemplary and non-limiting. Indeed, many other arrangements are possible. It is noted that while FIGS. 9 A through 9F show specific arrangements and positions of the P-cathodes within the respective cores 900A through 900F, the position(s) of the P-cathode(s) within any core can be different from any position(s) shown or suggested. In some embodiments, the effectiveness of the P-cathode(s) is / are independent of their position(s) within a core.

[0069] II. CATHODES HAVING BOTH NO AND MP ACTIVE MATERIALS

[0070] II. A OVERVIEW

[0071] While the above Section I describes an approach to making a cell core that mixes cathodes of differing types, i.e., an NO -active-material type and an MP-active-material type, within the same cell, this Section II describes approaches to making a cell core in which each of a plurality of cathodes within the cell core include both NO and MP active materials in the same cathode. In particular, this Section II describes three differing approaches for incorporating both NO and MP active materials into the same cathode, namely, a uniform blend approach in which NO and MP active materials are uniformly mixed with one another and applied to the same cathode in one or more layers composed of a blend of the NO and MP active materials, a layering approach wherein one or more layers of each of the NO and MP active materials are provided on the same cathode, with the MP active material preferably provided outwardly of the NO active material relative to the current collector of the cathode at issue, and a composite-particle approach wherein one or more layers of composite particles that each comprise both NO and MP active materials are provided on the same cathode, here, too, with the MP active material preferably located outwardly relative to the particles, with the NO active material forming a core of each particle. These approaches are described below in, respectively, Subsections II.B, II.C, and II.D.

[0072] It is noted that characteristics and properties of each of the NO and MP active materials described or indicated in this Section II may be the same as or similar to the characteristics and properties of the corresponding ones of the NO and MP active materials described above in Section I to the extent that they do not conflict with any principle set forth in this Section II. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the cell cores and cathodes described below in sections II.B, II.C, and II.D, including the cores 1000, 1104, and 1200 of FIGS. 10A, 11, and 12, respectively, and the corresponding cathodes 1004, 1040, 1100, and 1216 of FIGS. 10A, 10B, 11, and 12, respectively, can be substituted for the core 804 of FIG. 8 A and its corresponding cathodes (not shown in FIG. 8A), for example to make a battery module, such as the battery module 816 of FIG. 8B. The thickness of any cathode-active layer described below, such as cathode active layers 1032(1) & 1032(2), 1048, 1112(1) & 1112(2), and 1224(1) and 1224(2) of FIGS. 10A, 10B, 11, and 12, respectively, may be provided in any suitable thickness, such as in a range of about 5 microns to about 200 microns, among others. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the thickness of any cathode-active layer disclosed herein for any particular instantiation will be determined by the particular design at issue.

[0073] Before proceeding with describing each of the three approaches, as noted above NO active materials generally have better energy-storage performance (e.g., energy density) than MP active materials, but they tend to release oxygen during thermal decomposition in a thermal-runaway event that exacerbates the thermal runaway, as the oxygen feeds the combustion. Consequently, it is desired to add MP active material, which does not release combustion-feeding oxygen during thermal decomposition, to each of one or more cathodes of a cell core to mitigate severity of a thermal-runaway event. However, since MP active materials generally have lower energy-storage performance than NO active materials, it is desired to strike an optimal balance between incorporating enough MP active material into a cell core to mitigate severity of thermal runaway to a desired / necessary extent while minimizing the impact of the lower-performance of the MP active material on the energy-storage capability of the cell core.

[0074] Consequently, in some embodiments it is necessary to select a relative weight ratio of NO active material to MP active material in a cell core to achieve a desired balance between thermal-runaway-severity mitigation and energy- storage performance. Examples of such relative weight ratios, i.e., N0:MP, include, but are not limited to, 1: 1, 1.5: 1, 2: 1, 2.5:1, 3: 1, 3.5: 1, 4: 1, 4.5:1, 5: 1, 5.5: 1, and 6:1, among others. The relative amounts of the NO and MP active materials may alternatively be expressed, for example, as a weight percentage (wt.-%) of the MP material to a total amount of the NO and MP materials. For example, the wt.-% of the MP material may be, for example, in a range of about 5 wt.-% to about 95 wt.-%, about 5 wt.-% to about 25 wt.-%, about 5 wt.-% to about 20 wt.-%, about 10 wt.-% to about 50 wt.-%, about 20 wt.-% to about 50 wt.-%, about 10 wt.-% to about 40 wt.-%, about 20 wt.-% to about 40 wt.-%, about 25 wt.-% to about 35 wt.-%, or about 15 wt.-% to about 30 wt.-%, among others.

[0075] In some embodiments, the relative weight ratio of NO active material to MP active material may be based on the type of application into an electrochemical energy-storage cell of the present disclosure will be deployed. For example, if the application has a greatest risk of thermal runaway from penetration of a foreign object, then the relative amounts of the NO and MP active materials, by weight, may be based on a penetration testing, such as a nail-penetration testing. In another example, if the application has a greatest risk of thermal runaway from exposure to excessive heating, then the relative amounts of the NO and MP active materials, by weight, may be based on heating testing. Other examples and risk conditions are possible.

[0076] In addition, as noted above, in some embodiments it is preferred to locate the MP active material within a cathode so that, when the cathode is installed in a cell containing electrolyte, it is concentrated closer to the electrolyte than the NO active material. Without being bound to any particular theory, locating some or all of the MP active material closer to the electrolyte than the NO active material can result in higher suppression of thermal runaway (i.e., greater thermal stability) than locating more or all of the NO active material closer to the electrolyte than the MP active material. This may be so, for example and as noted above in section I. A.1 , because the MP active material is more readily available to react with any gas generated within the cell during an excursion. Greater thermal stability may also or alternatively be achieved because the MP active material inhibits the oxygen-containing NO active material from releasing oxidizing species during thermal decomposition and / or inhibits released oxidizing species from reaching the electrolyte, which can include reducing agents that would react with oxidizing species if they were available.

[0077] II.B CATHODES COMPRISING NO + MP BLENDS

[0078] FIG. 10A is directed to an example of forming a core 1000 of an electrochemical energy-storage cell (not shown), such as an alkali-metal cell, for example, a lithium-metal cell. For ease of illustration, in this example the core 1000 has three cathodes 1004, three anodes 1008, and five separators 1012 that electrically separate adjacent ones of the cathodes and anodes from one another. In this example, particles of NO and MP active materials 1016 and 1020, respectively, are provided to each cathode as an NO + MP blend 1024. After making the NO + MP blend 1024, it is used to form each cathode 1004, such as by applying a coating of the NO + MP blend on each side of a current collector 1028 so as to provide two cathode-active layers 1032(1) and 1032(2).Although not illustrated, but as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the NO and MP active materials 1016 and 1020 may be mixed with a suitable binder and / or one or more solvents for performing the coating operation.

[0079] The relative amounts of the NO and MP active materials 1016 and 1020 in the NO + MP blend 1024 may be as described above in Section II. A. In some embodiments, the blend of the NO and MP active materials 1016 and 1020 in the NO + MP blend 1024 is uniform throughout each of the cathode-active layers 1032(1) and 1032(2). However, in other embodiments, the distribution of the NO and MP active materials 1016 and 1020 within each of the cathode-active layers 1032(1) and 1032(2) may vary, for example, in the direction of the thickness of the cathode-active layers, i.e., in the vertical direction relative to FIG. 10A. For example, each of the cathode-active layers 1032(1) and 1032(2) may have a greater concentration, by weight, of MP material 1020 at its outerface 1032F than the NO material 1016, such as by way of continuous (e.g., uniform) gradation (not shown) in which the weight ratio of MP material to NO material (i.e., MP:N0 weight ratio) continuously changes from the current collector 1028 to the outer face 1032F. In some embodiments, such MP:N0 weight ratio may continuously change from 0: 1 to 1:0 from the current collector to the outer face at an extreme, to any other starting an ending point having at least some of each of the NO material 2016 and the MP material 1020, such as 0.2: 1 to 1:0.1, respectively, among many others. As discussed above, having a larger concentration of MP material 1020 closer to the electrolyte (not shown) can have benefits, such as consuming excursion-created gases and / or inhibiting oxidizing agents from the NO material 1016 from reaching the electrolyte.

[0080] Whereas the NO + MP blend 1024 of each of the cathode-active layers 1032(1) and 1032(2) is described as being uniform or continuously gradated, FIG. 10B shows an example cathode 1040 having a current collector 1044 and cathode-active layer 1048 having discrete sublayers, here, three sublayers 1048(1) to 1048(3), that each has a uniform blend of the NO material 1016 and the MP material 1020, but wherein the MP:N0 weight ratio of each layer differs among the sublayers. For example, in a particular instantiation of the cathode-active layer 1048, the MP:N0 weight ratio of sublayer 1048(1) is 0.1: 1, the MP:NO weight ratio of sublayer 1048(2) is 0.3: 1, and the MP:N0 weight ratio of sublayer 1048(3) is 1 :0.1. As another example, in a different instantiation of the cathode-active layer 1048, the MP:N0 weight ratio of sublayer 1048(1) is 0.0: 1, the MP:NO weight ratio of sublayer 1048(2) is 0.1 :1, and the MP:NO weight ratio of sublayer 1048(3) is 1:0. The relative wt%-ages and weight ratios of the NO and MP materials 1016 and 1020 (FIG. 10A) in the overall cathode-active layer 1048 may be as discussed above in section II.A.

[0081] It is noted that the thickness of each sublayer 1048(1) through 1048(3) may be any suitable thickness, and the thicknesses of the sublayers may be the same as one another or each may differ from one or both of the others. In addition, the number of sublayers need not be three as depicted in FIG. 10B. For example, a particular instantiation (not shown) of the cathode-active layer 1048 may have only two sublayers, whereas another particular instantiation (not shown) of the cathode-active layer may have five sublayers. In addition, while the anode 1040 is shown as having only one cathode-active layer 1048 on one side of the current collector 1044, other embodiments may have such a cathode-active layer on each side of the current collector. Many variations are possible.

[0082] II.B.l Test Results

[0083] In testing of a set of test cells, nail-penetration testing was performed at different nail speeds, specifically, 10 mm / s, 20 mm / s, and 80 mm / s, to simulate mechanical damage that causes short circuiting. The tested cells included a baseline cell having only an NO active material and cells having NO + MP blends of differing relative amounts. In this testing, the NO active material was an NMC material, and the MP active material was an LFP material.

[0084] The nail-penetration testing revealed that the relative amount of the LFP material in the NMC + LFP blend is important to mitigating the severity of thermal runaway. A 5 wt.-% LFP blend cell passed only the 10 mm / s nail-speed test and not the 20 mm / s nail-speed test; a 10 wt.-% LFP blend cell passed the 20 mm / s nail-speed test; and a 20 wt.-% LFP blend cell passed the 80 mm / s nail-speed test, which is the harshest nail-penetration test used in main-stream testing.

[0085] Heating tests were also performed on the test cells, with the heating simulating potential thermal damage to the cells. This heating testing revealed that a 20 wt.-% LFP blend cell performed similarly to the baseline NMC-only cell. However, a 50 wt.-% LFP blend cell showed clearly better thermal stability than the baseline NMC-only cell. Both the nail-penetration testing and the heating testing demonstrated a trend that the greater the amount of the LFP in the blend, the better the performance of a cell in mitigating thermal runaway.

[0086] Without being bound to any particular manner that blending LFP with NMC results in thermal-runaway mitigation, LFP has relatively poor conductivity and relatively low high-rate performance. Consequently, the blended material may reduce the severity of the short-circuiting (reduce the short-circuit current), and make the localized heating milder. Alternatively or in addition, LFP is more stable than NMC and has no oxygen release during heating. Therefore blending LFP into NMC may reduce the exothermal reactions at elevated temperatures, and make the cell safer. Alternatively or in addition, blending LFP and NMC or connecting them together electrically / electrochemically may change the LFP and NMC at high temperatures (e.g., the LFP may discharge the NMC at high temperature) and therefore make the cell safer.

[0087] II. C CATHODES COMPRISING DISCRETE NO AND MP SUBLAYERS

[0088] FIG. 11 illustrates a discrete-layer approach to forming cathodes 1100 for a core 1104 of a cell (not shown), such as an alkali-metal cell, for example, a lithium-metal cell. Referring to FIG. 11, each cathode 1100 has a current collector 1108 and a pair of cathode-active layers 1112(1) and 1112(2), with each of the cathode-active layers composed of an NO sublayer 1116 adjacent tothe current collector and an MP sublayer 1120 over the NO sublayer, wherein the MP sublayer is discrete relative to the NO sublayer. Each NO sublayer 1116 is made of particles of NO material 1124 that are applied to the current collector 1108 using any suitable technique, such as, but not limited to, a slurry-based coating process, among others known in the art for applying NO-based cathode-active materials. After the NO sublayers 1116 have been applied, the MP sublayers may be applied, again, in accordance with any known process for applying MP materials in the context of electrode construction, such as a slurry-based process, among others. Generally, the thicknesses of the NO and MP sublayers 1116 and 1120 may be any thickness suitable for the application at issue. The relative wt%-ages of the NO and MP materials in the cathode-active layers 1112(1) and 1112(2) may be as discussed above in section II. A.

[0089] Similarly to the core 1000 of FIG. 10A, the core 1104 includes, in addition to the cathodes 1100, a plurality of anodes 1128 and a plurality of separators 1132 that electrically separate adjacent ones of the cathodes and anodes. The anodes 1128 may be any suitable type of anodes, such as a plating-stripping type (e.g., lithium-metal, sodium- metal, etc.) or an intercalating- deintercalating type (e.g., lithium-ion, sodium-ion, etc.), among others. The separators 1132 may be any suitable dielectric separator, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or other suitable material, among others, and any practicable combination thereof.

[0090] II.D CATHODES COMPRISING MP-COATED NO PARTICLES

[0091] FIG. 12 illustrates an example process of forming a core 1200 of a cell (not shown), such as an alkali-metal cell, for example, a lithium-metal cell, using composite particles 1204 composed of both an NO material 1208, here, forming the core of each composite particle, and an MP material 1212, here, forming a shell around the NO core of each composite particle. As seen in the middle portion of FIG. 12, for each of a plurality of cathodes 1216, the composite particles 1204 are coated onto each side of a current collector 1220 to form respective cathode-active layers 1224(1) and 1224(2). The manner of coating the composite particles 1204 onto the current collectors 1220 may be any suitable method known in the art, such as slurry-based methods using a binder (not illustrated) and solvent (not illustrated) to assist, respectively, with adhering the composite particles to the current collector and to one another and with applying the binder and composite particles to the current collector. Many slurry-based and other coating techniques are known for applying particle-based cathode-active layers to current collectors, and such coating techniques can be used to form the cathode-active layers 1224(1) and 1224(2) of FIG. 12. The relative wt%-ages of the NO and MP materials in the composite particles 1204 may be as discussed above in section II. A.

[0092] It is noted that the NO + MP blend approach of FIG. 10A can be combined, for example, with the discrete- layer approach of FIG. 11. For example, an NO sublayer, such as the NO sublayer 1116 of FIG. 11, may be coated with a layer of the NO + MP blend, such as the NO + MP blend 1024 of FIG. 10 A. In other words, the MP layers 1120 shown in FIG. 11 may each be replaced by a layer of the NO + MP blend 1024 of FIG. 10A.

[0093] Combinations involving layering an NO + MP blend with the composite-particle approach of FIG. 12 are also possible, as are combinations involving layering using all three approaches illustrated in FIGS. 10A, 11, and 12. As an example directed to the composite-particle approach of FIG. 12 being combined with the discrete-layer approach of FIG. 11, a sublayer of NO material, such as appears in each of the NO sublayers 1116 of FIG. 11, may be coated with a composite particle layer, such as a layer like each of the cathode-active layers 1224(1) and 1224(2) of FIG. 12. In other words, the MP sublayers 1120 shown in FIG. 11 may each be replaced by a layer of the composite particles 1204 of FIG. 12.

[0094] Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described above may be combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Additionally, although particular methods herein may be illustrated and / or described as being performed in a specific order, the ordering is highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention.

[0095] Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of reducing severity of thermal runaway in a metal-anode energy-storage cell, the method comprising: forming a plurality of cathodes each comprising a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material, wherein the NO and MP active materials are provided in amounts relative to one another determined from thermal-runaway testing; and incorporating the plurality of cathodes into the metal-anode energy-storage cell.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising conducting the thermal-runaway testing to determine the amounts of the NO and MP active materials.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining the amounts of the NO and MP active materials as a function of speeds of differing nail-penetration tests.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the cathodes includes providing a layer of the NO active material and a layer of the MP active material on at least one side of each of the cathodes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the layer of NO active material is applied before the layer of MP active material is applied.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the layer of MP active material is applied before the layer of NO active material is applied.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the cathodes includes providing each cathode with at least one layer of particles, wherein each particle includes both the NO active material and the MP active material.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the MP active material is layered onto the NO active material so that the MP active material forms a shell around the NO active material.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the cathodes includes providing each cathode with a cathode-active layer having at least one layer composed of a mixture of the NO and MP active materials.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cathode-active layer has a thickness, and the mixture is gradated through the thickness so as to have a first MP:N0 weight ratio at a first side of thethickness and a second MP:NO weight ratio at a second side of the thickness spaced from the first side, wherein the first and second MP:NO weight ratios are selected to be different from one another.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each cathode has a current collector and the first side of the thickness of the cathode-active material confronts the current collector, and the second MP:N0 weight ratio is higher than the first MP:N0 weight ratio.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein: the cathode has a current collector to which the cathode-active layer is applied; the cathode-active layer has a plurality of sublayers having MP:N0 weight ratios that differ among the sublayers; and the MP:N0 weight ratio of the sublayer farthest from the current collector is higher than the MP:N0 weight ratio of the sublayer closest to the current collector.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 1 : 1 to about 6: 1.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 2: 1 to about 6: 1.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 3 : 1 to about 6: 1.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 4: 1 to about 6: 1.

17. The method of any one of claims 1-16, wherein the metal-anode energy-storage cell is a lithium- metal cell.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide active material.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium iron phosphate active material.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium manganese iron phosphate active material.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal-anode energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

29. A core for an electrochemical energy-storage cell, the core comprising: a plurality of anodes; and a plurality of cathodes stacked with the plurality of anodes, each of the cathodes comprising at least one cathode-active layer that includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material, wherein the NO and MP active materials are provided in amounts relative to one another determined from thermal-runaway testing.

30. The core of claim 29, wherein the amounts of the NO and MP active materials are determined as a function of speeds of differing nail-penetration tests.

31. The core of claim 29, wherein each of the cathodes includes a layer of the NO active material and a layer of the MP active material on at least one side of each of the cathodes.

32. The core of claim 29, wherein each cathode has a current collector, and the layer of NO active material overlays the current collector and the MP active material overlays the NO active material.

33. The core of claim 29, wherein each of the cathode-active layers includes at least one layer of particles, wherein each particle contains both the NO active material and the MP active material.

34. The core of claim 33, wherein the MP active material is layered onto the NO active material so as to form a shell around the NO active material.

35. The core of claim 29, wherein each of the cathode-active layers includes at least one layer composed of a mixture of the NO and MP active materials.

36. The core of claim 35, wherein the cathode-active layer has a thickness, and the mixture is gradated through the thickness so as to have a first MP:NO weight ratio at a first side of the thickness and a second MP:NO weight ratio at a second side of the thickness spaced from the first side, wherein the first and second MP:NO weight ratios are selected to be different from one another.

37. The core of claim 36, wherein each cathode has a current collector and the first side of the thickness of the cathode-active material confronts the current collector, and the second MP:NO weight ratio is higher than the first MP:NO weight ratio.

38. The core of claim 35, wherein: the cathode has a current collector to which the cathode-active layer is applied; the cathode-active layer has a plurality of sublayers having MP:NO weight ratios that differ among the sublayers; and the MP:NO weight ratio of the sublayer farthest from the current collector is higher than the MP:NO weight ratio of the sublayer closest to the current collector.

39. The core of claim 29, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 1 : 1 to about 6: 1.

40. The core of claim 29, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 2: 1 to about 6: 1.

41. The core of claim 29, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 3 : 1 to about 6: 1.

42. The core of claim 29, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 4: 1 to about 6: 1.

43. The core of any one of claims 29-42, wherein each of the anodes is a lithium-metal anode.

44. The core of claim 43, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide active material.

45. The core of claim 44, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium iron phosphate active material.

46. The core of claim 44, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium manganese iron phosphate active material.

47. The core of claim 29, wherein each of the anodes is an alkali-metal anode.

48. The core of claim 29, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

49. The core of claim 48, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

50. The core of claim 48, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

51. The core of claim 48, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide.

52. The core of claim 51, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

53. The core of claim 51, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

54. The core of claim 51, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

55. An electrochemical energy-storage cell, comprising: a housing; an electrolyte contained within the housing; anda core according to any one of claims 29 through 54, wherein the core is contained in the housing and is in operative relationship with the electrolyte.

56. The electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 55, wherein the electrolyte comprises one or more anhydrous organic solvents.

57. The electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 55, wherein: the electrochemical energy-storage cell has a first thermal-runaway-initiation temperature; and a baseline electrochemical energy-storage cell has a second thermal-runaway-initiation temperature, wherein the baseline electrochemical energy-storage cell is identical to the electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 55 but that includes only a plurality of cathodes containing only the NO active material; wherein the first thermal-runaway-initiation temperature is greater than the second thermal- runaway-initiation temperature due to the presence of the MP active material in the electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 55.

58. A battery module having an energy output, comprising: a housing; and a plurality of the electrochemical energy-storage cells of claim 55 contained within the housing and electrically connected with one another so as to provide the energy output.

59. A cathode for an electrochemical energy-storage cell containing an electrolyte, the cathode comprising: a current collector; and a first cathode-active layer applied to the current collector, the first cathode-active layer having a first side confronting the current collector and a second side spaced from the first side and exposed to the electrolyte when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell; wherein the first cathode-active layer includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material incorporated into the first cathode-active layer so that, when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell, the MP active material is located between the electrolyte and the NO active material.

60. The cathode of claim 59, wherein the NO active material is applied as a first layer over the current collector, and the MP active material is applied as a second layer over the first layer.

61. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 1 : 1 to about 6: 1.

62. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 2: 1 to about 6: 1.

63. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 3 : 1 to about 6: 1.

64. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 4: 1 to about 6: 1.

65. The cathode of any one of claims 59-64, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium-metal cell.

66. The cathode of claim 65, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide active material.

67. The cathode of claim 66, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium iron phosphate active material.

68. The cathode of claim 66, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium manganese iron phosphate active material.

69. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

70. The cathode of claim 60, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

71. The cathode of claim 70, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

72. The cathode of claim 70, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

73. The cathode of claim 70, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide.

74. The cathode of claim 73, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

75. The cathode of claim 73, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

76. The cathode of claim 73, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

77. The cathode of claim 59, wherein the MP active material forms shells respectively around corresponding cores made of the NO material so as to form a plurality of particles that are applied to the current collector so as to form the first cathode-active layer.

78. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 1 : 1 to about 6: 1.

79. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 2: 1 to about 6: 1.

80. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 3 : 1 to about 6: 1.

81. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the weight ratio of the NO active material to the MP active material is in a range of about 4: 1 to about 6: 1.

82. The cathode of any one of claims 77-81, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium-metal cell.

83. The cathode of claim 82, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide active material.

84. The cathode of claim 83, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium iron phosphate active material.

85. The cathode of claim 83, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium manganese iron phosphate active material.

86. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

87. The cathode of claim 77, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

88. The cathode of claim 87, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

89. The cathode of claim 87, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

90. The cathode of claim 87, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide.

91. The cathode of claim 90, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

92. The cathode of claim 90, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

93. The cathode of claim 90, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

94. The cathode of any one of claims 59 through 93, further comprising a second cathode-active layer applied to the current collector on a side of the current collector opposite the first cathodeactive material, wherein the second cathode-active layer is substantially identical to the first cathode-active layer.

95. A cathode for an electrochemical energy-storage cell containing an electrolyte, the cathode comprising: a current collector; and a first cathode-active layer applied to the current collector, the first cathode-active layer having a first side confronting the current collector and a second side spaced from the first side and exposed to the electrolyte when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energy-storage cell; wherein the first cathode-active layer includes a nickel oxide (NO) active material and a metal phosphate (MP) active material mixed with one another and incorporated into the first cathode-active layer so that, when the cathode is present in the electrochemical energystorage cell, a first region of the first cathode-active layer proximate to the first side has a first MP:N0 weight ratio and a second region of the first cathode-active layer proximate tothe second side has a second MP:NO weight ratio that is greater than the first MP:NO weight ratio.

96. The cathode of claim 95, wherein the first MP:NO weight ratio is in a range of about 0: 1 to about 0.3: 1, and the second MP:N0 weight ratio is in a range of about 1 :0 to about 1 :0.3.

97. The cathode of claim 95, wherein the first MP:N0 weight ratio is about 0.2: 1 or less, and the second MP: NO weight ratio is about 1 : 0.2 or more.

98. The cathode of claim 95, wherein the first cathode-active layer comprises a plurality of sublayers, wherein the sublayers include a first sublayer containing the first region, and a second sublayer containing the second region, wherein the first sublayer has a first uniform blend of the NO and MP active materials having the first MP:N0 weight ratio, and the second sublayer has a second uniform blend of the NO and MP active materials having the second MP:N0 weight ratio.

99. The cathode of claim 98, wherein the first MP:N0 weight ratio is in a range of about 0: 1 to about 0.3: 1, and the second MP:N0 weight ratio is in a range of about 1 :0 to about 1 :0.3.

100. The cathode of claim 98, wherein the first MP:N0 weight ratio is about 0.2: 1 or less, and the second MP:N0 weight ratio is about 1:0.2 or more.

101. The cathode of any one of claims 95-100, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium-metal cell.

102. The cathode of claim 101, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese- cobalt oxide active material.

103. The cathode of claim 102, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium iron phosphate active material.

104. The cathode of claim 102, wherein the MP active material comprises a lithium manganese iron phosphate active material.

105. The cathode of claim 102, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

106. The cathode of claim 102, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

107. The cathode of claim 106, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

108. The cathode of claim 106, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

109. The cathode of claim 106, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide.

110. The cathode of claim 109, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

111. The cathode of claim 109, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

112. The cathode of claim 109, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

113. A core for an electrochemical energy-storage cell that, during use, provides energy output to an external load, the core comprising: a plurality of anodes; a plurality of cathodes, wherein: at least one first cathode of the plurality of cathodes comprises nickel-containing-oxide (NO) active material; and at least one second cathode of the plurality of cathodes comprises metal-containing- phosphate (MP) active material; and a plurality of separators; wherein: the plurality of anodes, the plurality of cathodes, and the plurality of separators are arranged to form a stack in which each of the plurality of separators is located between a corresponding anode-cathode pair composed of one of the plurality of anodes and one of the plurality of cathodes; andwhen the core is incorporated into the electrochemical energy-storage cell, at least one of the second cathodes never participates in the energy output of the electrochemical energy-storage cell.

114. The core of claim 113, wherein, when the core is incorporated into the electrochemical energystorage cell, a plurality of the second cathodes never participate in the energy output of the electrochemical energy-storage cell.

115. The core of claim 113, wherein, when the core is incorporated into the electrochemical energystorage cell, all of the second cathodes never participate in the energy output of the electrochemical energy-storage cell.

116. The core of claim 113, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

117. The core of claim 116, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is a plating / stripping-type anode.

118. The core of claim 117, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

119. The core of claim 113, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is an inter calating / de- intercalating-type anode.

120. The core of claim 119, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

121. The core of claim 113, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

122. The core of claim 121, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

123. The core of claim 121, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

124. The core of claim 121, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

125. The core of claim 124, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is a plating / stripping-type anode.

126. The core of claim 121, wherein the NO active material comprises a layered Ni-containing oxide, such as a nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide or a nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide.

127. The core of claim 126, wherein the NO material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of non-lithium metal elements, of about 50% to about 100%.

128. The core of claim 126, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

129. The core of claim 126, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

130. The core of claim 126, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

131. The core of claim 130, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is a plating / stripping-type anode.

132. The core of claim 113, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

133. The core of claim 113, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

134. The core of claim 113, comprising a plurality of the first cathodes and a plurality of the second cathodes.

135. The core of claim 134, wherein the first cathodes and the second cathodes are stacked interdigitatingly relative to one another.

136. The core of claim 135, wherein the first and second cathodes alternate one by one with one another.

137. The core of claim 113, wherein the plurality of cathodes are provided in a number C and the at least one second cathode is provided in a number P, wherein a %-ratio of P to C is less than 50%.

138. The core of claim 113, wherein the plurality of cathodes are provided in a number C and the at least one second cathode is provided in a number P, wherein a %-ratio of P to C is less than about 40%.

139. An electrochemical energy-storage cell, comprising: a housing;an electrolyte contained within the housing; and a core according to any one of claims 113 through 138, wherein the core is contained in the housing and is in operative relationship with the electrolyte.

140. The electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 139, wherein the electrolyte comprises one or more anhydrous organic solvents.

141. The electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 139, wherein: the electrochemical energy-storage cell has a first thermal-runaway-initiation temperature; and a baseline electrochemical energy-storage cell has a second thermal-runaway-initiation temperature, wherein the baseline electrochemical energy-storage cell is identical to the electrochemical energy-storage cell but that includes only a plurality of the at least one first cathode; wherein the first thermal-runaway-initiation temperature is greater than the second thermal- runaway-initiation temperature due to the presence of the at least one second cathode in the electrochemical energy-storage cell of claim 139.

142. A battery module having an energy output, comprising: a housing; and a plurality of the electrochemical energy-storage cells of claim 139 contained within the housing and electrically connected with one another so as to provide the energy output.

143. A method of constructing an electrochemical energy-storage cell, the method comprising: constructing a core having a plurality of cathodes by: providing a plurality of first cathodes that each comprise a nickel-containing-oxide (NO) active material; determining a number of second cathodes that each comprise a metal-containing- phosphate (MP) active material so as to achieve a desired level of thermal-runaway safety of the electrochemical energy-storage cell; providing the number of second cathodes; providing a plurality of separators; providing a plurality of anodes; and forming the core using the plurality of first cathodes, the number of the second cathodes, the plurality of separators, and the plurality of anodes.

144. The method of claim 143, wherein determining the number of the second cathodes includes determining the number of the second cathodes so as to raise a thermal-runaway temperature of the electrochemical energy-storage cell relative to a baseline thermal-runaway of a baseline electrochemical energy-storage cell that is constructed according to the method of claim 143 but without any of the second cathodes.

145. The method of claim 143, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is designed to provide an energy output to an external load during use, the method further comprising electrically connecting at least one of the number of the second cathodes so as to participate in providing the energy output.

146. The method of claim 143, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is designed to provide an energy output to an external load during use, the method further comprising not electrically connecting at least one of the number of the second cathode so as to not participate in providing the energy output.

147. The method of claim 143, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is an alkali-metal cell.

148. The method of claim 143, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is a plating / stripping-type anode.

149. The method of claim 148, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

150. The method of claim 143, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is an inter calating / de- intercalating-type anode.

151. The method of claim 150, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

152. The method of claim 143, wherein the NO active material comprises one or more transition metals that include nickel, with the nickel present in a stoichiometric range, relative to the one or more transition metals, of about 33% to about 100%.

153. The method of claim 152, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

154. The method of claim 152, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

155. The method of claim 153, wherein the electrochemical energy-storage cell is a lithium cell.

156. The method of claim 155, wherein each of the plurality of anodes is a plating / stripping-type anode.

157. The method of claim 156, wherein the NO active material comprises a nickel-manganese- cobalt (NMC) material.

158. The method of claim 157, wherein the NMC material contains nickel in a stoichiometric range, relative to amounts of the nickel, manganese, and cobalt in the NMC material, of about 50% to about 90%.

159. The method of claim 157, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

160. The method of claim 157, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

161. The method of claim 143, wherein the MP active material comprises iron phosphate.

162. The method of claim 143, wherein the MP active material comprises manganese iron phosphate.

163. The method of claim 143, comprising a plurality of the first cathodes and a plurality of the second cathodes.

164. The method of claim 163, wherein the first cathodes and the second cathodes are stacked interdigitatingly relative to one another.

165. The method of claim 163, wherein the plurality of cathodes are provided in a number C and the at least one second cathode is provided in a number P, wherein a %-ratio of P to C is less than 50%.

166. The method of claim 163, wherein the plurality of cathodes are provided in a number C and the at least one second cathode is provided in a number P, wherein a %-ratio of P to C is less than about 40%.

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