Discrete Active Material Battery Plates for Power-Energy Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bipolar battery assemblies struggle to achieve a balance between high power and energy density, as traditional methods of applying active materials result in acid diffusion that limits performance, and the design of flat plates requires additional cleaning steps and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
The use of battery plates with discrete active material regions and nonplanar structures that allow for the application of different active materials on the same substrate, ensuring they remain separate and optimize both power and energy density by allowing for self-equilibration during charge and discharge events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a simple mixture of tribasic and tetrabasic lead is used, then both power and energy density are attempted to be optimized, but acid diffusion controls both power and energy such that neither is rendered at a high output
Solution Approach 1:
The active material is divided into discrete regions with different compositions (tribasic lead regions and tetrabasic lead regions) rather than using a simple mixture. This segmentation allows each region to function independently, with tribasic regions providing high power output and tetrabasic regions providing high energy density, eliminating the acid diffusion problem that occurs in mixed compositions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the active material have different local compositions optimized for different functions. Tribasic lead regions are positioned to provide high power density where rapid electron transfer is needed, while tetrabasic lead regions are positioned to provide high energy density where sustained energy storage is needed. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between power and energy density.
2Ease of manufacture
If flat bipolar plates are used with traditional pasting equipment, then active material can be applied to the plate, but additional cleaning steps are required and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses nonplanar structures (protrusions and recesses) instead of flat surfaces for applying active material. These three-dimensional structures allow the active material to be contained within recesses or on protrusions, eliminating the need for secondary cleaning operations to remove excess material from flat surfaces, thus simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The active material is nested within recesses or on protrusions of the bipolar plate structure, rather than being applied to a flat surface where it would require cleaning. This nesting approach contains the active material within the plate's three-dimensional features, eliminating excess material that would need to be removed through additional cleaning steps.
3Power
If discrete active material regions are used on the same substrate, then both power and energy density are optimized through self-equilibration, but the structural design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the functions of multiple active materials (tribasic lead and tetrabasic lead) into a single bipolar plate structure with discrete regions. This integration allows the plate to self-equilibrate between rapid charge and discharge events, providing both high power and high energy density without requiring separate components, thus managing structural complexity while achieving performance optimization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the battery's ability to provide both high power and energy density while preventing electrolyte leaks and short circuits, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost, and enabling efficient assembly without secondary cleaning operations.
Implementation Method 1
The adjacent surfaces of the bipolar plates with the separator and the electrolyte disposed between the plates form an electrochemical cell where electrons and ions are exchanged between the anodic material and the cathodic material
Implementation Method 2
there are battery separators located between the adjacent plates, which allow an electrolyte to flow from cathodic material to the anodic material
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to battery plates which are useful in optimizing the power and energy density of a batter assembly by having discrete active materials. The present disclosure relates to a battery plate having: a) a substrate having a first surface opposing a second surface; b) one or more active materials disposed on the first surface, second surface, or both the first surface and the second surface of the substrate; and wherein the one or more active materials include two or more discrete active material regions.