Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) earlier this week outlined a manufacturing milestone in its solid-state battery evaluation program, with Managing Director Tim Wither telling Proactive the company had demonstrated the deposition of a complete cathode, solid electrolyte and conductive network in a single dry step.
The work was achieved using dynamic spray deposition, or DSD, at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology within the US National Science Foundation-supported Centre for Solid-State Electric Power Storage research program.
Wither said DSD involved applying material at supersonic velocities through a nozzle, allowing the company to control the process “pretty much like 3D printing a battery layer”. He said the latest work demonstrated a cathode and electrolyte matrix, including cathode material and LLZO, or lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide.
For investors, the milestone appears relevant because it addresses manufacturing complexity, one of the key challenges in taking solid-state battery technology from laboratory development toward scale. Wither said the DSD process used no solvents and no binders, adding that it also avoided furnaces and presses. He said that meant the company could cut out several steps that would usually be involved in manufacturing liquid electrolyte or solid-state batteries.
Wither also highlighted progress on the interface between the cathode and electrolyte, which he identified as an important technical challenge. He said Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR) was working on two non-sulfur electrolytes, an AC electrolyte and a high-temperature electrolyte, with the AC electrolyte previously showing competitive ionic conductivity against sulfide-based alternatives.
The next catalyst for the company was the transition from coin cells into full-size power cells. Wither said coin cells were the normal test bed, but the company was now moving toward full-scale cells and expected to update the market shortly.
A further milestone would involve moving the DSD process from LLZO, described by Wither as an off-the-shelf reference material, into the AC and high-temperature electrolytes being developed by the company. He said that would be a “real key milestone” for Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR).
Wither also pointed to potential commercial pathways, saying there was already “a lot of interest in potential partnerships”. He said solid-state batteries represented the next generation of battery technology because the format offered “more energy for less weight” and removed the liquid electrolyte.
While Wither stressed that the work remained at a very early laboratory stage, he said the company was “walking in the right direction” as it works toward scalable solid-state battery manufacturing.
Interview highlights
- Critical Resources Ltd has achieved a manufacturing milestone in its solid-state battery evaluation program.
- The company used dynamic spray deposition, or DSD, to deposit a complete cathode, solid electrolyte and conductive network in a single dry step.
- The work was carried out at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology within the CEPS research program.
- Tim Wither said the process avoids solvents, binders, drying ovens, furnaces and presses, potentially reducing manufacturing complexity.
- Wither described DSD as being similar to “3D printing a battery layer” because material is applied through a nozzle at supersonic velocities.
- The company is working on non-sulfur electrolytes, including an AC electrolyte and a high-temperature electrolyte.
- Wither said the next steps include moving from coin cells to full-size power cells and applying the process to the company’s own electrolyte systems.
- The company sees potential partnership and licensing interest if the technology continues to progress.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I’m your host, Kerry Stevenson. Tim Wither, Managing Director of Critical Resources Ltd, is with us. The ASX code is CRR. I’ve asked him to come back because the company has made, I guess, a manufacturing milestone in its solid-state battery technology. I hate to use this phrase, but is this a critical milestone?
Tim Wither: Yeah. It is another demonstration of the work that we are doing with the South Dakota School of Mines. This DSD project is tackling one of the two problems.
Proactive: Just explain DSD. When you say DSD, what do you mean by that?
Tim Wither: DSD is dynamic spray deposition. Material is applied at supersonic velocities through a nozzle, and through the nozzle we can control it pretty much like 3D printing a battery layer. In this announcement, we successfully demonstrated a cathode and electrolyte matrix. That includes the cathode and LLZO, which is lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide. We were able to apply both the cathode and electrolyte material in a matrix form to form the cathode. That is one important step toward laying down the electrolyte in a single layer.
Proactive: Why is that important?
Tim Wither: The current process for solid-state battery manufacturing has been very challenging from a cost perspective and at scale. By doing it through the DSD application, we are using no solvents and no binders, which improves the connectivity and electrical performance of the battery. There are no furnaces and no presses, so we are able to cut out quite a lot of steps that would normally go into manufacturing a liquid electrolyte battery or a solid-state battery.
Proactive: That sounds to me like there are two things there. From a cost perspective, people would be very interested because the process eliminates a number of steps. I also understand that one of the hardest parts of solid-state battery technology is the join, or interface, between the cathode and the electrolyte.
Tim Wither: Yeah, and we have made some really great progress. We have two electrolytes that we have been working on, and they are non-sulfur. That reduces costs and toxicity as well. The two electrolytes are the AC electrolyte and the high-temperature electrolyte. The AC one that we published earlier in the year has a really high benchmark. Its ionic conductivity is really competitive against sulfide. So again, we are removing one extra step. Running sulfide through these processes is very complicated. It gets in the filters and contaminates a lot of things. Battery chemistry is one thing, but without being able to manufacture at scale, it does not really work. This is another step, and this is very early-stage laboratory work, but the direction is very encouraging.
Proactive: What should investors take away from this? At the end of the day, that is my audience, and they are looking at opportunity. Why is this important from a news flow perspective and in terms of moving down this pathway? As you said, this is still early stage.
Tim Wither: It is credible because we are actually building cells. The licensing is through the whole base, from manufacturing and the chemistry as well. It is very early stage, but we are walking in the right direction. From here, we are going into full-scale cells, so power cells. That means moving from coin cells, which are the normal test bed, into a full-size power cell. We are doing that now, and we will be able to talk to the market very shortly. Then we will move into the electrolytes, which is really going to be the next challenge for us. The reason the DSD project was looked at earlier is because of the complexities of laying down electrolytes. We had to demonstrate it with LLZO, which is off-the-shelf reference material. The next critical steps will be moving it into the AC and high-temperature electrolytes. That will be a real key milestone for us.
Proactive: Then you license it out? Because if this technology works, I assume there will be a lot of people that will want a licence to use the technology.
Tim Wither: Yeah, and there is already a lot of interest in potential partnerships and the like. Here in Australia, there is not too much solid-state work. There is a lot of semi-solid and polymer work through the electrolytes. Solid-state is really the next generation of these batteries: more energy for less weight. It improves the performance and removes the liquid electrolyte. The industry needs to move toward solid-state, and society needs to move toward solid-state. It is a collaborative ecosystem, and this is another step toward the full-scale adoption of solid-state batteries.
Proactive: Congratulations. As I said at the start, it is another milestone that Critical Resources Ltd is reaching. The ticker code is CRR. Check it out. Every time I speak to Tim Wither, the company keeps hitting milestones. Congratulations, Tim. Always good to have you back on Proactive, and we will see you next time.
Tim Wither: Thanks so much.
Proactive: Thank you, Tim.