By using water instead of expensive, flammable and toxic solvents to make lithium-ion batteries, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have discovered and demonstrated a path to reduce manufacturing costs and removed environmental concerns. The method also eliminates the explosion-proof processing equipment requirement. "Others have done what we're doing to make anodes, but no one has been successful with both anodes and cathodes," said Jianlin Li, one of the developers of the technology, which has a patent pending. The new manufacturing method uses deionized water instead of a slurry containing the solvent N-methylpyrrolidone, which is expensive, toxic and produces flammable vapors during the electrode manufacturing process. ORNL researchers have demonstrated a battery that features excellent performance.
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