This presentation examines why emerging Western manufacturers are facing such challenges during their cell ramp-up and production, while Asian competitors, particularly from China, steadily advance. It further elaborates the relevance of switching to next-gen production technologies in this highly competitive industry and how it might impact production processes, ramp-ups and production excellence.

Replacing carbon-based materials with silicon in negative electrodes for lithium-ion-batteries promises a boost of capacity and is therefore a major R&D topic. Nevertheless, widespread commercial automotive applications with silicon-modified anodes are still at the horizon, but not a commercial fact. Issues regarding volume variations, particle disintegration, and electrolyte consumption are hurdles still to overcome. The presentation will summarise latest efforts and prospects with regard to commercialisation of silicon-based anodes.

The development of electrolytes displaying good transport properties, high thermal stability, low flammability, and high safety is of crucial importance for the realisation of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. In this work we report about a series of novel bio-derived electrolytes, based on the solvents Tetraethoxyglyoxal (TEG) and γ-valelolactone (GVL), which have been developed with the aim to match above mentioned characteristics, together with a high sustainability and a low price.

After 15 years of R&D, Umicore proudly introduces its silicon carbon composite (Si/C) anode portfolio. Following extensive large-scale testing, our customers have confirmed that Umicore's Si/C technology meets their key requirements for next-generation EV batteries: performance, cost, scalability, ESG, and IP. Stay tuned for updates on our production progress.

Binders and additives, though a small part of anode compositions, play a crucial role in achieving a long cycle life. This is especially vital for silicon-containing anodes, where materials like SiOx, Si/C, or Si are employed to enhance storage capacity. Evolving binder chemistries and innovative structural additives, such as Anteo X, aim to minimise inactive materials, pushing silicon anodes forward with significant cycle improvements.

Understanding degradation mechanisms in Si-based Li-ion batteries is critical for improving performance and longevity. This work leverages advanced imaging techniques to reveal structural and chemical changes during cycling, providing insights for enhancing battery design and stability.

Today’s conventional lithium-ion batteries fall short of meeting the needs of many automotive, consumer electronics, and stationary storage applications. Many believe that the unique cell design of solid-state lithium-metal batteries will help bridge this gap—particularly when it comes to electric vehicles—because the technology is designed to enable longer range, faster charging, and enhanced safety compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-metal anodes offer exceptional energy density but face challenges such as dendrite growth and instability. This work explores scalable innovations to overcome these barriers, enabling safer, high-performance batteries for broad commercialisation.

This talk discusses lithium metal host anode-enabled monolithic LiS batteries and their transformative potential for air and land mobility. It highlights breakthroughs in high-energy density designs and their implications for the future of transportation.

Sulfidic solid-state electrolytes enable the efficient solid-solid conversion of sulfur and suppress any polysulfide diffusion in solid-state Li-S cells. Further, high-energy Li-S cells were built and evaluated utilizing a semi-solid concept. Based on those results, the talk will cover recent progress in materials, processes, and cell design for solid-state Li-S batteries.