Murata Manufacturing and Stanford University Collaborate to Create the World’s First Porous Current Collector, Quadrupling Battery Power

10/10/2024

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
President: Norio Nakajima

Porous current collector

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Murata Manufacturing") has, in collaboration with Stanford University, successfully developed the world's first^*1 porous current collector (PCC) (hereinafter “this technology”) capable of significantly enhancing the power of lithium-ion secondary batteries without compromising their energy density.^*2. Incorporating this technology into lithium-ion secondary batteries enables them to deliver four times the power compared to traditional current collectors.  Standford’s innovative concept, combined with Murata’s expertise regarding lithium-ion batteries fostered a collaborative environment for research and development that led to the creation of this technology. Murata Manufacturing will continue to work on the research and development to implement this technology into lithium-ion secondary batteries in the near future.

_{*1: This is according to our research as of September 30, 2024
*2: Nature Energy 9, 643, 2024}

Quadrupled Power and Ultra-Fast Charging for Lithium-Ion Secondary Batteries

Conventional lithium-ion secondary batteries face a challenge: when electrodes are made thicker to increase capacity, the transport distance for lithium ions increases, leading to higher resistance. This ultimately reduces maximum current and power output. Murata Manufacturing together with Stanford University have addressed this issue by developing a technology that halves the lithium-ion transport distance. By introducing this innovation into lithium-ion batteries, new pathways for lithium ions are created, effectively reducing resistance by half and doubling the current. As a result, these enhanced batteries can generate up to four times the power compared to traditional current collectors and achieve charging times that are reduced to just one-quarter of previous durations.

Lighter Lithium-ion Secondary Batteries 

Aluminum and copper foils are used as the traditional current collectors in lithium-ion secondary batteries. Replacing traditional current collectors with this technology reduces the battery weight as they have the polymer matrix instead of metals^*3. 
_{*3: We estimate that the weight would be reduced by about 10%, while the energy density would increase by about 10% if porous current collectors are used in a lithium ion secondary battery with a cylindrical cell (21700).}

Safety Improvement of Lithium-Ion Secondary Batteries

Since the polymer is used as a matrix in porous current collectors, it is expected that this technology will improve the safety of lithium-ion secondary batteries preventing the thermal runaway.

Accelerates the Electrification of a Wide Range of Devices

Lithium-ion secondary batteries are commercialized in two shapes: cylindrical and laminated. It is possible to apply this technology to either type. Therefore, this technology is ideal for a wide variety of applications. Moreover, as the enhancements of this technology become greater the larger the batteries, it will enable higher-power and faster charging of large-capacity lithium-ion secondary batteries. Furthermore, as the benefits of this technology scale with larger batteries, it will enable higher power output and faster charging for high-capacity lithium-ion secondary batteries. In addition to conventional applications such as mobile devices, power tools and electric vehicles, we can expect the electrification of large devices such as buses, trucks, and aircrafts, that were previously not supported by lithium-ion batteries.

Murata Manufacturing is focused on implementing of this technology to achieve unprecedented high-power and extremely fast charging, realizing a more energy-efficient society. We believe that electrifying large power sources currently dependent on fossil fuels with high-power, high-capacity lithium-ion secondary batteries will contribute significantly to achieving a carbon-neutral society.

More information for co-creation partners.

References：Yusheng Ye, Rong Xu, Wenxiao Huang, Huayue Ai, Wenbo Zhang, Jordan Otto Affeld, Andy Cui, Fang Liu, Xin Gao, Zhouyi Chen, Tony Li, Xin Xiao, Zewen Zhang, Yucan Peng, Rafael A. Vila, Yecun Wu, Solomon T. Oyakhire, Hideaki Kuwajima, Yoshiaki Suzuki, Ryuhei Matsumoto, Yasuyuki Masuda, Takahiro Yuuki, Yuri Nakayama & Yi Cui, “Quadruple the rate capability of high-energy batteries through a porous current collector design”, Nature Energy 9, 643–653 (2024). 
Image provided：Stanford University