GM-Supported Addionics Seeks to Reduce Lithium-Ion Battery Costs Using Innovative Wavy Foil Technique

In the realm of lithium-ion batteries, competing to lower costs isn’t necessarily a negative pursuit.

The challenge for battery producers comes from car manufacturers who demand both reduced costs and enhanced performance. Success in this area has been marked, with costs of battery packs falling from $780 to $139 per kilowatt-hour over a decade, as reported by BNEF, paving the way for electric vehicles to swiftly expand their market presence.

However, a recent plateau in the reduction of battery pack prices could threaten the broader adoption of EVs if the trend does not reverse, rendering EVs unaffordable for most. A fresh approach by the startup Addionics suggests the answer might lie within a frequently overlooked battery component: the current collector foil.

Current collectors today function similarly to household aluminum foil, their job being to collect electrons from the active materials that store ions for power generation. “The design hasn’t seen significant change in 30 years,” says Moshiel Biton, the CEO and co-founder of Addionics, in conversation with TechCrunch.

Addionics believes the solution involves adding texture to the conventional foil. Biton acknowledges the idea itself isn’t revolutionary, “but achieving commercial scale has been a challenge until now.”

While previous designs for improved collectors ranged from simplistic — creating them with numerous holes — to complex — fabricating sponge-like materials, Addionics has innovated by producing copper and aluminum foils adorned with tiny openings and a mix of peaks and valleys.

For the anode’s copper current collector, Addionics employs a process to accurately place copper ions using electricity. For aluminum, used on the cathode side to collect electrons, the company utilizes electroetching. These methods mirror some processes found in semiconductor manufacturing.

The introduction of a three-dimensional architecture in current collectors by Addionics significantly enhances the contact between foil and active material, leading to improved battery performance and efficiency. The company notes this innovation not only has the potential to double the battery’s lifespan but is also compatible with various battery chemistries. Biton suggests the company may refine its technology for specific chemistries to further enhance performance.

Having recently secured a $39 million Series B funding led by GM Ventures and Deep Insight, with additional support from Scania, Addionics plans to expedite the development of its innovative collectors, pursue new markets, and explore further geographies to “lower risks, gather more data, enhance market presence, and achieve faster commercialization,” according to Biton.

Earlier in the year, Addionics shared plans for constructing a $400 million facility in the U.S. for producing its current collectors, a move that aligns with the incentives outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act for increasing domestic manufacturing.

In tandem with the factory news, Addionics hinted at having letters of intent from several U.S. car manufacturers, withholding names until a future announcement. “With the factory news forthcoming, we’ll provide more details, but the involvement of two OEMs in our funding round hints at our active customer engagements,” Biton hinted.