Lithium Ion Battery Technology
Optodot Boehmite Separator Patent Portfolio
Optodot has granted several licenses under a patent portfolio controlled by Optodot covering batteries, cells, electrolyte members and separators comprising boehmite. The patent portfolio includes twenty patents issued in the U.S., Japan, Korea, China, and Europe and permits our licensees to utilize boehmite separator films for lithium-ion batteries, lithium metal batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, and other electric current producing cells. Licensing Opportunity Licensing of Optodot’s Boehmite Separator Patent Portfolio, which covers batteries, cells, electrolyte members and separators comprising boehmite, is currently available to interested parties. Optodot’s Boehmite Separator Patents| US Patents | |
| Patent No. | Description |
| US 6,153,337 | Separators for electrochemical cells |
| US 6,306,545 | Separators for electrochemical cells |
| US 6,183,901 | Protective coating for separators for electrochemical cells |
| US 6,194,098 | Protective coating for separators for electrochemical cells |
| US 6,277,514 | Protective coating for separators for electrochemical cells |
| US 6,410,182 | Method of making separators for electrochemical cells comprising a microporous pseudo-boehmite layer |
| US 6,423,444 | Methods of making separators for electrochemical cells comprising pseudo-boehmite layers and a protective coating layer |
| US 6,488,721 | Methods of preparing electrochemical cells |
| US 6,497,780 | Methods of preparing a microporous article |
| US 7,066,971 | Methods of preparing electrochemical cells |
| US 7,081,142 | Methods of preparing electrochemical cells |
| US 7,160,603 | Microporous articles and methods of preparation |
| Foreign Patents | ||
| Jurisdiction | Patent No. | |
| Korea (South) | KR100643210 | |
| Japan | JP4807538 | |
| Japan | JP4426721 | |
| France | FR1151486 | |
| Germany | DE69908189 | |
| United Kingdom | UK1151486 | |
| China | CN1173424 | |
| China | CN1175505 | |
Ceramic Coated Separator (NanoPore® CCS)
Conventional lithium ion battery separators reinforced with a ceramic coating have demonstrated significant improvements to the safety, cycle life, and performance of lithium ion batteries (LIBs), leading to widespread industry adoption from smartphones to large format lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles (xEVs) and other high-energy or high-power applications. Benefits of CCS, using either a boehmite or an alumina pigmented coating, include greater thermal and chemical stability for longer cycle life, resistance to heat shrinkage, and the prevention of dendrite growth. Boehmite is a proven candidate material for ceramic coated separators with significant market share in CCS. Optodot has entered into several licenses under its patent portfolio covering batteries, cells, electrolyte members and separators comprising boehmite. Technology Transfer Package Optodot has developed boehmite CCS products and can provide expertise in developing and modifying boehmite CCS coatings as part of a Technology Transfer package. Advantages of Boehmite CCS over Alumina Optodot believes that boehmite has several advantages over alumina, including:- Lower density by 25% of boehmite compared to alumina for lower cost and lower coating weight
- Optodot’s boehmite coating provides greater mix stability and coatability
- Boehmite is much less abrasive than alumina (mohs hardness of 3.5 vs 9) for extended life of coating and slitting process equipment
NPORE® All-Ceramic Separators
Optodot Corporation has developed the world’s first flexible, free-standing all-ceramic nanoporous membrane separator, NPORE®, for lithium ion batteries. NPORE® separators provide superior functionality and outstanding heat resistance for current and next generation lithium ion batteries. NPORE® separators’ features include: Thermal Stability:- Best in class dimensional stability
- 5x higher thermal conductivity vs. plastic separators
- Flame resistant
- Superior abuse resistance
- Rapid wet out with battery electrolytes
- 3x greater compression resistance vs. plastic separators
- Excellent electrolyte conductivity
- Uniform and narrow pore size distribution
*Shrinkage at 220 ℃ for 1 hour is less than 1%
NPORE® separator patents include all of the patents for Optodot’s Boehmite Separator Patents plus the following patents:
| NPORE® All-Ceramic Separator Patents | ||
| Patent No. | Title | |
| US 8,883,354 US 9,871,239 | Separators for electrochemical cells | |
| US 9,070,954 | Safety Shutdown Separators | |
| ZL201180035701 (China) 5,990,804 (Japan) | Separators for electrochemical cells | |
Electrode Coated Ceramic Separator
Optodot’s Electrode Coated Separator technology, funded by the DOE, aims to reduce the cost of manufacturing lithium ion batteries and the inactive components cost by 20-40%, while improving their safety, lifetime, and energy and power density, by incorporating new inactive components of separator, current collectors, and termination materials, and by utilizing a simpler and faster battery assembly process. |
8um all-ceramic separator |
| 60um anode layer coated directly onto the all-ceramic layer followed by calendering. |
Technical Accomplishments
- Demonstrated the first examples of current collector/electrode/separator coated stacks by leveraging off of the all-nanoporous, heat resistant, and very high compressive strength ceramic separator, the key enabling technology
- The use of the 8 micron thick ceramic separator alone meets >20% cost improvement objective for the inactive components and also improves safety and cycle life
- Developed new process of sintering to make metal current collection layers together with a new process for tabbing and termination
Optodot Electrode Coated Separator Patent Portfolio
| Electrode Coated Separator Patents | ||
| Patent No. | Title | |
| US 8,962,182 EP2436064 ZL201080031835.3 (China) JP6082248 | Batteries utilizing anode coatings directly on nanoporous separators | |
| US 9,065,120 AU2010254533 CA 2,763,959 RU2513988 JP6113210 JP6159083 | Batteries utilizing electrode coatings directly on nanoporous separators | |
| US 9,118,047 | Batteries utilizing cathode coatings directly on nanoporous separators | |
| US 9,209,446 ZL201080031834.9 (China) JP5782634 | Lithium batteries utilizing nanoporous separator layers | |
| US 9,660,297 | Methods of producing batteries utilizing anode coatings directly on nanoporous separators | |
Additional patents are pending.
Licensing Opportunity & Technology Transfer Package Optodot’s Electrode Coated Separator provides the next generation breakthrough in the cost and performance of lithium ion batteries. The benefits of this technology extend to all types of lithium ion batteries, including for electric vehicles and mobile electronics.
