Poster Presentation 14
Low Cost High Power Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Battery
Venroy Watson(a), Olivier Barbier(a)(b), Ananadanesh Shellikeri(a)(b), Mark Weatherspoon(a),
J.P. Zheng(a)(b)(c) and Eric Kalu(a)
(a)
Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Florida A&M University Tallahassee, FL 32310 (a)Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, (b)Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center, and
(c)
Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS), Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32310
LiFePO4 has gained popularity in recent times and increasingly being used as one of the cathode materials
[1] in lithium ion batteries, due to its environmentally benign nature and most importantly because of its thermal
stability [2] at higher discharge rates. The LiFePO4 battery fabrication process currently suffers from high costs
and complexity due to the use of wet slurry method that requires extra safety measures as a result of the use of
potentially harmful chemicals. A cost effective and safer battery fabrication method is a necessity for its mass
production for applications in transportation & portables.
We are presently working on developing a method of electrode fabrication and dry-room assembly for the
battery, which is safer and reduces its production costs. The potential cost savings will be achieved through the
elimination of material, lower capital equipment expenses, and energy and manufacturing costs. This
elimination of energy expenditures and elimination of carcinogenic solvents from the battery production process
will also reduce its environmental impact. During battery’s charge and discharge characterization we have
observed better performance by our electrode material when compared to commercially available electrode
materials. The results obtained by our improved fabrication method will be compared with the classical
traditional fabrication method.
[1] A. K. Padhi, K. S. Nanjundaswamy, J. B. Godenough, Phospho-olivines as Positive-Electrode Materials for
Rechargeable Lithium Batteries, J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol. 14, No. 4, April 1997.
[2] Z. Li, D. Zhang, F. Yang, Developments of lithium-ion batteries & challenges of LiFePO4 as one promising
cathode material, J Mater Sci (2009) 44:2435–2443.
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