ALGCC‑developing

ALGCC is carried through within the Impact Innovations program Swedish Metals and Minerals, a joint initiative of the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova.

This project aims to develop materials and processes for new application areas with a focus on the green energy storage industry in Europe. In this project, a graphene slurry with enhanced properties as compared to the industry standard and the feasibility study will be developed, and a method for large-scale production of graphene-coated ALCC will be demonstrated.

The aluminum (Al) current collector (CC) is a crucial component for various types of batteries. For instance, Al foil is used as CC for the LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode in Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs).

The LFP cathode materials, however, exhibit low ionic and electronic conductivity due to structural limitations, and the Al CC is therefore coated with carbon to improve the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the LFP cathode. In a feasibility study prior to this project, graphene slurries were formulated and coated onto Al foil to form a homogenous electrically conductive film with good adhesion to the Al. Electrochemical evaluation showed that the fabricated AL CC had similar specific capacity and improved cyclability as compared to the AL CC made from commercial materials. A first analysis implies that the enhanced cyclability of the graphene-coated AL CC is due to improve corrosion resistance.