Pathways to Commercially Relevant Lithium Metal Batteries for EVs and Electric Aircraft

Lithium metal batteries are widely regarded as essential to the greater effort to electrify transportation beyond EVs, while also providing opportunities for fast charge and extended driving range. Yet, while energy density considerations have primarily driven this perspective and R&D investments, there are ongoing challenges in managing ion fluxes across interfaces, which impacts aspects of both performance and cycle life. Here, I will discuss the design of ion-transporting materials, both solids and liquids, which enable lithium metal cell chemistries to meet demanding performance requirements in conventional and emerging uses cases, including eVTOL. I will discuss data-driven research paradigms that accelerate the identification of ion-transporting materials and those that create useful interphases capable of high areal ion fluxes relevant to high power batteries and those capable of fast charge. I will further discuss how these discoveries have been translated into larger cell formats and provide context into how to advance to packs and modules.