It takes less than 10 minutes to charge 98%. What kind of technology is the 3D structure silicon-based battery?

Recently, silicon negative electrode lithium batteries have made the latest progress. The US battery manufacturer Enovix has successfully achieved 0-80% charging in only 5.2 minutes on a 0.27Ah silicon negative electrode power battery unit, and 6C fast charging from 0 to 98% in less than 10 minutes.

This is nearly two-thirds less than the current fast charging target of the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC).

Moreover, this data is achieved under the premise of ensuring the battery life. The official cycle life data is:

After 1,000 cycles, the battery capacity can still be maintained at 93%, while the current mainstream ternary lithium battery has only about 80% of its capacity after 1,000 cycles.

The technology behind this is Enovix’s signature patent: 3D Silicon battery structure.

It is reported that this new battery adopts a 3D battery architecture design and an EV-grade cathode and anode made of silicon, which can further reduce the battery charging time.

Silicon-based materials have outstanding energy storage potential and are believed to be able to replace current graphite as a new type of anode material. In theory, the lithium storage capacity of silicon anode batteries can reach more than twice that of current lithium batteries using graphite anodes, which is equivalent to nearly doubling the energy density of the battery. Once silicon-based materials can be officially used in lithium batteries, it will be of great help in improving battery capacity and charging speed.

Enovix tested its fast charging capability on a 0.27Ah silicon-lithium battery and claimed to have overcome four major technical challenges, including battery expansion during the first charge, efficiency during the first charge, and short service life due to repeated charge expansion. It is not clear whether this battery can reach commercial and industrial mass production levels. Once it can be widely used in automobiles, electric vehicles will really have no range anxiety, and they will have long range and fast charging.