Round-robin test of sulfide-based solid-state battery assembly in coin-type cell configuration

The replacement of conventional lithium-ion batteries with solid-state batteries is currently being investigated by a large number of players in both the academic and industrial sectors [1]. Sulfide-based electrolytes are among the materials considered most promising, especially for applications in the transport field [2]. For this type of solid electrolyte, manually assembled cells such as Swagelok cells, EL-CELLs and self-built pressure vessels are typically used to evaluate the performance of the anode, cathode and solid electrolyte materials [3]. However, coin cells are often out of consideration. Although coin cells cannot accurately predict how a material will perform in a battery cell format in an end-use application, they are easy to assemble and can provide reproducible data in comparison to the other cell types, making them an interesting option for testing materials under conditions that are more relevant to the intended application. This round-robin test for the preparation of solid-state coin cell batteries with a solid sulfide electrolyte, a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode and a lithium metal anode is intended for academic researchers and provides guidelines for research in this field. The cell preparation method presented in this work has been evaluated for its reproducibility and can be modified depending on the parameters used to optimize the solid electrolyte, the cathode material, the bilayer consisting of cathode and solid electrolyte, the lithium metal anode and the cell in general. Defined electrochemical tests of a sulfide solid-state battery in coin cell configuration are measured in a round-robin test between four laboratories (see Figure 1).

References:
[1] Kim, K. T.; Kwon, T. Y.; Jung, Y. S. Scalable fabrication of sheet-type electrodes for practical all-solid-state batteries employing sulfide solid electrolytes. Curr. Opin. Electrochem. 2022, 34, 101026.
[2] Tron, A.; Orue, A.; López-Aranguren, P.; Beutl, A. Critical current density measurements of argyrodite Li6PS5Cl solid electrolyte at ambient pressure, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2023,170, 100525.
[3] Tron, A.; Hamid, R.; Zhang, N.; Beutl, A. Rational optimization of cathode composites for sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries. Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 327.
Acknowledgements:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation under grant agreement No. 101069686 (PULSELION project). This work was supported by the financial support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.