[Courtesy of LG Chem]
Normally, electrodes used in batteries consist of multiple crystal structures of metallic materials. When a battery undergoes the charge and discharge process repeatedly, cracks inside the crystalline structure widen, creating gas in the gaps. Such a process reduces the durability of the battery.
When single-crystal electrodes are used, the battery's durability will be increased by up to 30 percent and stability will also be improved. By using single-crystal electrodes, batteries can expect about a 10 percent improvement in the total capacity.
LG Chem said that the company started the mass production of high-nickel single-crystal cathodes at a plant in Cheongju some 115 kilometers (71 miles) south of Seoul this month. This is the first time for a South Korean battery maker to mass-produce single-crystal electrodes.
According to the battery maker, LG Chem will expand the production line to its plant located in the southern industrial city of Gumi by 2027 and have a total annual production capacity of more than 50,000 tons.
"High-nickel single-crystal cathodes are the game-changing innovation and key that would solve the pain point of our customers," LG Chem's Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol said in a statement on June 26.
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