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Toyota/Panasonic Set Collaborate with Nexeon for Silicon-based Li-Ion Battery Material Development

PPES, a joint venture created by Toyota and Panasonic, recently announced a partnership with Britain-based battery developer Nexeon to develop the next generation of li-ion batteries, which will feature an increased silicon content for improved battery performance.

PPES (Prime Planet Energy & Solutions) is a joint venture formed by Toyota and Panasonic and specializes in battery development. The entity primarily sells automotive batteries for ICE vehicles, although it has also been expanding its line of large-capacity battery products in response to the rapid growth of the BEV market.

In January 2021, PPES and Britain-based battery material developer Nexeon announced a partnership for the first time. Now the two parties once again announced that they will commit to an expanded partnership by zeroing in on silicon material development for li-ion batteries.

All three parties involved in the aforementioned trilateral commission, of sorts, deeply specialize in battery technologies such as the manufacturing process. As such, they would appear to be strong candidates for taking on the challenge of developing new battery materials.

Generally speaking, the performance of li-ion batteries used in EVs is largely dependent on the choice of diode materials. While cathodes generally consist of NCM/NCA and LiFePO4, anodes are primarily made from graphite. Due to the diverse materials that make up cathodes, there is an equally diverse number of suitable substitutes too, with various products on the market available for choosing. In contrast, however, there is only a single suitable material for anode production.

Whereas graphite remains the ideal material for commercial li-ion battery anodes at the moment, silicon anodes are regarded as the next-gen material that is closest to commercialization, with a theoretical energy density that is 10 times that of the current mainstream. At any rate, most of our readers surely understand that, regardless of the emergence of breakthroughs in battery technology every now and then, actual commercial production has yet to take place.

The challenge of silicon anode production has tod with the fact that, as silicon stores electrical charges, the material may potentially bloat or break, in addition to becoming more easily deteriorated. Even with an increase in energy density, silicon anodes are still ill-suited for commercial applications if they suffer the reduced lifespan.

It would appear that Nexeon, which traces its roots to Britain, has made some progress in the relevant technologies. Hence, during PPES’ infancy, Korea-based battery manufacturer SK is also mulling an investment in Nexeon as a ticket to the silicon anode market.

If Toyota is able to achieve major breakthroughs in battery technology via this collaboration, then a return to competition in the EV market will unlikely be much of a struggle. Interestingly enough, as the primary battery supplier for Tesla, Panasonic is also the manufacturer of choice for Tesla’s self-designed 4680 battery, thereby placing Panasonic in a curious position situated between the aforementioned two ICE and EV manufacturers.

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