BE1026832B1 - REAL ROLL TO ROLL IN-LINE MANUFACTURABLE LARGE SURFACE BATTERY AND CAPACITOR CELLS, BATTERY AND CAPACITOR STACKS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to battery and capacitor arrangements, solutions, systems, packages, modules and cells, materials used therein as part of the anode, cathode, separator, dielectric and / or in the manufacturing process of the battery, capacitor or any intermediate product or end product, the manufacturing processes themselves and any advantageous uses made possible by the particular type of battery or capacitor obtained.

Description

REAL ROLL TO ROLL IN-LINE MANUFACTURABLE LARGE SURFACE

The invention relates to battery and capacitor arrangements, solutions, systems, packages, modules and cells, materials used therein as part of the anode, cathode, separator, dielectric and / or in the manufacturing process of the battery, capacitor or an intermediate or finished product, the manufacturing processes themselves and any advantageous use enabled by the particular type of battery or capacitor obtained.

Background of the Invention A variety of batteries and capacitors exist, particularly with regard to their internal material system through which the battery and capacitor are operational. The performance of this variety of batteries and capacitors must be judged against manufacturing cost, and the resulting metric today also determines and limits the potential uses of the currently known batteries and capacitors.

Today, further innovation of batteries and capacitors relies on further optimization within the paradigm of existing manufacturing processes, characterized in that the parts of the battery and capacitor such as anode, cathode, separator and dielectric are made by separate distinct processes and then assembled, which is the main cause of the cost problems described above.

The present invention is inspired by the fact that batteries and capacitors are a few orders of magnitude too expensive to be economically relevant for energy storage in electricity grids or in micro-grids consisting of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power plants. In particular, the capital expenditures in terms of cost per kW (cost of power unit) and kWh (cost of energy unit) are directly related to the complexity of the battery and capacitor cell components and thus the expensive materials and the expensive manufacturing methods of coatings. The fundamental reason for the complexity of the battery cell components is related to the quest for the highest energy and power density at the battery cell level, both in terms of volumetric and gravimetric density. For example, in Li-ion cells, the active cathode coating on the current collector is a complex compound of lithiated oxides such as, for example, the lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, which requires expensive and rare chemical elements such as lithium and cobalt.

In addition, the synthesis of solid reactants (e.g.

Powders) and the composition with chemical additives to form the coating, as well as the coating process, follow strict protocols to obtain a specific stoichiometry of the coating and can only be applied to small conditioned surfaces given the sensitive and selective interface kinetics.

As a result, the cost of the cathode and anode represents almost more than a third of the cost of a battery pack (connected battery modules and battery modules are connected battery cells). In addition, given the complexity of the cell components and the application of their respective coatings to small conditioned surfaces, these small battery cells must be additionally labeled, wired and assembled into modules and modules assembled in packages to achieve certain energy and power ratings.

The assembly cost to obtain packs is easily more than 15% of the cost of the battery pack.

Recognizing that consumer electronics, portable power tools, marine, aerospace, aerospace and motor vehicles require compact and lightweight batteries, grid energy storage units basically have a large footprint available on site and in most cases these units remain on site.

Weight is only relevant for transport purposes where, for example, loads of up to 40 tons on trucks on highways are allowed.

In other words, cell density is not the primary concern of power producers and grid operators.

Their primary concern is safety and cost effectiveness of the energy storage units and the battery cell is a major add-on of unit costs in excess of 50% of the unit cost of a battery pack in terms of bill of materials, including the processing of the coatings and all assembly steps.

Apart from the preference for high density battery cells, research and development around the world is limited to small battery cells compatible with module and package assembly accomplished worldwide.

Historically, small battery cells were made on narrow magnetic tape machines as far back as the 1990s.

Sony was under pressure to find an alternative use for the tool as magnetic tapes moved through compact discs.

Recognizing that the battery cells were intended for consumer electronics such as mobile phones, further research and development continued to develop small form factor battery cells that assemble multiple battery cells into modules for use in portable power tools and larger consumer electronics.

This trend continued with the assembly of larger modules and even the assembly of multiple modules into packages to address larger power and energy ratings for use in the marine, aviation, aerospace, transportation and automotive industries.

While this approach offers modularity, the minimum scale requirements (or smallest unit) in the power industry are an order of magnitude greater than the largest battery-backed vehicle imaginable.

With this polarization towards module and package assembly, innovations around classical (such as so-called.

Rocking chair single ion eg.

Sodium) battery types are all compatible not only with the cell manufacturing methods of Li-ion cells, but also with the long and established footprint of module and package assembly plants around the world.

Object of the invention It is the object of the invention to solve the above problem by starting from a completely different production paradigm.

Summary of the Invention It is a first aspect of the invention to provide a manufacturing method for a battery and capacitor cell by using foil or sheet-based fabrication for at least two parts of the battery and capacitor cell, and then combining both generated parts into a further foil or sheet based manner.

It is a second aspect of the invention to provide, in the spirit of the first aspect of the invention, a suitable film or sheet based manufacture of one or more of said parts, more particularly manufacturing methods that benefit from such a selected foil or sheet based method, in particular by combining the fabrication of such parts (such as anode or cathode with the separator) and / or starting from simpler (available in roll format) materials for such anode or cathode ( compared to material stacks that are more difficult to process, resulting from further optimization of current production methods). In one embodiment of the invention, extrusion coating processes are used to make the separator, dielectric and / or protective portion of the anode or cathode.

In one embodiment of the invention, roll-to-roll aerosol processes such as graphene deposition from CO 2 are used to prepare the protective portion of the anode or cathode.

In a further particular embodiment of the invention, the use of a foamed polymer or a foamed polymer compound is provided.

In another embodiment of the invention, the use of a polymer with embedded metallic materials is provided for the protective layer or current collector of the anode, cathode, or both. Also, in one embodiment of the invention, use of a polymer with embedded dielectric materials is provided for the dielectric in a capacitor cell.

In one embodiment of the invention, coating processes are used to fabricate the anode or cathode, thus one or both of which is at least two layers.

It is worth emphasizing already at this stage that when operating in the (combined) (in-line) roll-based approach described above, other processes (such as providing conductors for connection purposes or insulators for cooling purposes during finishing the battery module or package) may (and preferably) be embedded therein.

It is also worth noting that when working in the (combined) (in-line) role-based approach outlined above, alternative methods of adapting battery cells, modules and packs during manufacture can be used, particularly when varying the materials used in the extrusion coating and / or other coating processes suitable for in-line and / or the process parameters of one or more of these steps.

For the sake of completeness, the above battery and capacitor (part) fabrication method that includes at least one outlined foil or sheet based fabrication approach can also be combined with offline or discontinuous processes.

Overview of the Drawings Figure 1 schematically shows a battery or capacitor (10) with its anode (20), its cathode, its separator or dielectric (40) and its electrolyte (50).

Figure 2 shows two embodiments of a foil or sheet based fabrication of a combined layer (120) being the current collector or capacitor plate (100), provided with a roll, with the separator or dielectric (110) applied thereto via an extrusion. coating process (210).

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a foil or sheet based fabrication of the anode or cathode via a coating step (300) followed by the embodiment of Figure 2 (top). As an alternative to the embodiment, that of Figure 2 (below) could also be combined therewith. As a further alternative to the embodiment of Figure 2 (top), it could be combined with a capacitor plate (100), provided with a roll, applied thereto via a calendering process or an assembling or stacking step.

Figure 4 schematically shows a battery (10) with its anode (20), its cathode, its separator (40) and its electrolyte (50), manufacturable according to the method of Figure 3, more particularly comprising the anode (or cathode) now two layers (100, 130) of which one is provided as a film or sheet via a roll while the other is provided via an in-line continuous coating process. For the sake of completeness, the coating steps (420, 300) may include none or one or more coating steps.

Figure 5 shows an embodiment of the invention in accordance with the first aspect of the invention using combinations of role-based processes. Note that hybrid combinations of at least one continuous in-line roll-based with multiple other in-line or offline roll or sheet-based processes are also possible.

Figure 6 schematically shows a battery (10) with its anode (20), its cathode, its separator (40) and its electrolyte (50), to be produced by the method of Figure 5, more particularly comprising both the anode and the cathode now has two layers (100, 130 and 410, 430 respectively), one of which is provided as a foil or sheet via a roll, while the other is provided via an in-line continuous coating process.

Figure 7 shows an embodiment of a foil or sheet based fabrication of the anode or cathode via a protective layer with a coating process, based on extrusion coating, liquid or aerosol coating, vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition and / or epitaxial growth (500) further still a similar coating step (300) previously discussed and followed further with the embodiment of Figure 2 (above). Alternatively, the embodiment of Figure 2 (bottom) could also be combined therewith.

Figure 8 shows an embodiment where the (layered) film (460) produced by one of the film or sheet-based manufacturing methods is also provided on a roll (possibly at a location far from the originally placed production), further additional steps (1000) can be applied such as applying labels with conductive layers for wiring purposes and coating with insulating layers for heat dissipation (preferably on the outer edges of the (AL) foil (all around))

and then cut to a desired length and then a further processing step (such as for providing electrical and thermal conductors). Figure 9 shows a method for manufacturing cells with a large area based on bending or rolling the film.

Figure 10 shows an alternative method of manufacturing modules based on repeated execution of the processes described above.

Figure 11 shows an exemplary module according to the method of Figure 10. Figure 12 shows two embodiments of modules in accordance with the described module manufacturing methods, an embodiment with insulation (e.g. paper or plastic based) between the cells (left) and an advantageous embodiment with conduction (for example based on Al) between the cells (right). Figure 13 provides a manufacturing process with a protective and active layer on one side of the film while the separator is applied to the other side of the film.

A similar approach can be used for a capacitor by providing a dielectric layer in place of the separator with the extrusion (or alternate casting process). Figure 14 is an example of a stack with common current collectors for consecutive cells in a battery stack.

Figure 15 illustrates a stack provided with heat exchange elements.

Description of the Invention With specific reference now to the figures, it is emphasized that the details shown are by way of example and illustrative only of the various embodiments of the present invention.

They are presented to provide the most useful and easiest description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention.

In this regard, no attempt is made to depict structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a basic understanding of the invention.

The description, taken with the drawings, makes it clear to those skilled in the art how the various forms of the invention can be practiced.

The invention relates to batteries and capacitors.

While batteries use a separator and current collector, capacitors use a dielectric and capacitor plate instead.

The invention, inspired by the need for a paradigm to drastically reduce the cost of batteries and capacitors, is related to a battery and capacitor (electrolyte neutral or agnostic) cell architecture and processing that makes it possible to produce cells using mass volume production methods from completely non-existent related industries and where the multiplication of production capacity can take place very quickly and on a global scale.

With a high multiplier, cost learning curves and related price erosions going through the value chain from material to battery and capacitor system production will be unprecedented and is the only sustainable strategy to condemn the current state of the art cost effective Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors for stationary energy storage .

When looking for a new cell architecture, especially for batteries, it is important to aim for a battery cell type that allows the cathode and anode to be kept as simple as possible, avoiding complexes, alloys, or multilayer structures, while keeping both cell components. can be produced by inexpensive, well-established manufacturing methods, which are preferably capable of implementing battery cell types, such as the double ion non-rocking chair cell, where charge storage takes place in the cell on both sides at anode and cathode.

Subsequently, both working ions must be hosted by the electrolyte between both cell components and charge storage can occur on both sides of the cell via plate / strip, alloy / delegation or graphite intercalation.

Therefore, the electrode can be a bulk metal substrate with a single atomic element for certain ions migrating from the electrolyte or a conventional graphite electrode for other ions.

When a metal substrate with a single atomic element in bulk is effective for ion charge storage, it suddenly also serves as a current collector to enable electronic charge transport outside the battery cell.

In Li-ion cells, each electrode has a separate substrate for the current collection in addition to an active ion charge storage layer (both a graphite layer on the anode side and a complex alloy on the cathode side). When a graphite layer is needed for ionic

charge storage, then a separate substrate for current collection is required.

Figure 2 (top) shows a first embodiment in which the extruder is provided with granulates (240) and foaming means (250). Figure 2 (bottom) shows a second alternative embodiment in which a further (IR) radiation step (220) is used to start or further improve the foaming process.

Finally, a step of cutting (260) the resulting composite layer is performed, directly or after additional production layers (preferably also made on rolls or sheets,

as shown in Figure 5).

As such, Figure 2 above shows a first manufacturing process with a support (100) (deployed from a roll (200)) onto which the foamed polymer or dielectric (110) is directly provided via an extruder (210).

The carrier (100) is selected to be suitable as a current collector and for rolling processes for subsequent in-line coating of other required battery or capacitor cell elements.

After this step, the resulting stack can be cut (possibly after further steps have been performed on it). Figure 2 below shows a second (alternative) manufacturing process with a support (100) (deployed from a roll (200)) on which polymer (110) is provided via an extruder (210) and foam is formed via (IR) radiation.

Figure 5 shows an embodiment of the invention in accordance with the first aspect of the invention in that combinations of roller-based processes are used, in particular the anode (or cathode) is made with the processes to the left of Figure 5, further on one of the it is provided with the separator or dielectric (with each of the embodiments of Figure 5) and finally combined (450) and cut (260). Figure 5 thus shows a combined manufacturing process in which layers or supports are provided with coatings, further one of them is provided with a separator and then the entire stack is combined for cutting.

For the sake of clarity, in the proposed combined flow as shown in Figure 5, the speeds of the rollers are preferably matched as schematically indicated by the dotted roll.

Furthermore, the proposed combined flow is here also entirely a schematic representation and not a concrete overview of the production facility.

For example, it is to be understood that the combining step requires twisting of the resulting film (440), e.g. by using an additional roller element (not shown). Figure 7 shows an alternative process, where the protective layer is also applied via an extruder (500). Figure 7 thus shows an embodiment of a foil or sheet based fabrication of the anode or cathode via the application of a protective layer with a coating process (500), further another coating step for the active layer (300) discussed earlier and thereafter. continues with the execution of figure 2 (above). Alternatively, the embodiment of Figure 2 (bottom) could also be combined therewith.

Here, too, an extruder (500) is provided with granulates (510) and active agents (520). Note that the anode and cathode made by this process now contain four layers, respectively, current collector, protective layer, active layer and separator (not explicitly shown in the drawings).

Since the purpose is to provide a battery or capacitor (or at least materials suitable for forming one), the selected or resulting materials are implicitly characterized in that the ion transport for the electrochemical system is defined by the anode, cathode and electrolyte or the electron storage at the anode and cathode must be able to function. In particular, the separator and the electrolyte provided substantially within part of the separator context are therefore specially designed. Likewise, the dielectric elements provided within part of the dielectric context are specially designed for that purpose.

A variety of embodiments are now described: (1) In one embodiment, a true roll-to-roll process to generate an aluminum chloride-graphite battery is described. To produce this type of battery cell structure, an aluminum foil is used as anode material or current collector. This aluminum foil is unrolled and then extrusion-coated with an open-cell polymer foam, which is produced, for example, with CO2 or N2 as a physical blowing agent. The thickness of the foam layer is controlled by calender rolls. The extrusion coated polymer coating acts as a separator and can be formulated with an adhesive additive to allow good adhesion to the anode or current collector surface. In addition, thermal or light-induced cross-linking of the polymer can also be used to improve the thermal and / or chemical resistance of the foam. The structure described is an anode or current collector foil with an in-line coated separator. In a separate step, the cathode is prepared by coating a protective layer on a current collector through an in-line physical vapor deposition process. An example is a coating of TiN on an aluminum foil. This double layer film is then coated on the previously coated side with a graphite suspension. The anode part (aluminum en) and the cathode part (current collector - protective layer - graphite) with the separator in between are cut together to the correct length, depending on the desired capacity or energy rating of the battery or capacitor cell. Electrical wiring labels and heat sink insulation layers are coated on anode and cathode foils in suitable locations. A stack of alternating anode and cathode foils is formed and inserted or recoated using the in-line rolling processes to form a packaging case where an AICI3-EMIMCI (1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride) anolyte is added to the package around the battery cell , module or package.

(2) In a second embodiment, cathode and anode are produced in the same roll-to-roll process, but the way to produce the separator foam is slightly different using a chemical blowing agent instead of a physical blowing agent. The chemical blowing agent is added to the extruder and at a given melting temperature of the polymer, the chemical blowing agent decomposes and forms an inert gas (such as CO2 or N2), resulting in an open cell structured foam at the exit sheet or film.

(3) In a third embodiment, a similar process can be proposed in which the unrolled aluminum foil is extrusion-coated with a polymer containing a chemical blowing agent. The thickness of the coating is controlled by calender rolls. The extrusion coating is performed at a temperature below the decomposition temperature of the chemical blowing agent. When a proper thickness is achieved, the assembled passes through an in-line oven at a temperature higher than the decomposition temperature of the chemical foaming agent. During this secondary heating step, the open cell structure is formed in the polymer coating. An additional cross-linking agent can be added to the polymer melt which will simultaneously cross-link the polymer during the formation of the open cell structure to prevent the foam from collapsing. The rest of the battery pack or module is produced in the same way as described above.

(4) In a fourth embodiment, the foamed open cell separator is not formed by an extrusion coating, but by a chemical polymerization reaction. Here, two liquids are mixed and coated on the aluminum substrate, where a chemical reaction takes place. An example can be the reaction of an isocyanate liquid and a diol with hydroxyl groups. In combination with a catalyst, an open-cell polyurethane foam can be formed on the aluminum substrate, resulting in an anode with in-line produced foam polymer separator.

(5) In a fifth embodiment, the in-line polymer foam can be produced on the cathode side. In this case, an aluminum substrate is coated with a protective coating (e.g. TiN coating via physical vapor deposition). This assembled assembly is then mixture coated (= coated with a mixture) with a graphite suspension. After calendering and drying, the foamed polymer can be coated on the graphite surface using the extrusion coating described previously via physical or chemical foaming techniques. This assembled is then combined with a rolled aluminum foil and this assembled is cut to a certain length, placed in a packaging casing and filled with an anolyte.

(6) In a sixth embodiment, an aluminum foil is unrolled and coated with a graphite suspension. This assembled is then coated on the graphite side with an extrusion coated polymer film using a physical or chemical foaming method. In addition, the polymer foam can also be produced by a chemical reaction as described in the 4th embodiment. In a second roll-to-roll process, the cathode is prepared by coating a substrate with a protective layer (such as TiN) through a physical vapor deposition process. This assembled is then coated with a graphite suspension. The two coatings are joined and the correct cell length is cut again. The assembled is placed in a packaging case and a KFSI salt based (potassium fluorosulfonylimide) electrolyte that is both an anolyte and catholyte is added to form a dual ion battery cell.

(7) In a seventh embodiment, the same strategy as described in the sixth embodiment can be used, but here the polymer foamed separator is coated on the graphite suspension on the cathode side and an aluminum foil is added to this stack to form the KFSI dual-ion battery .

(8) In a final embodiment, the invention provides single aluminum foils with the processing of the two half cells on each side and then stacked to form a battery pack.

The invention relates to the production of open cell foam, in particular by using extrusion coating.

The invention relates to the manufacture of the aforementioned foams, for use in batteries or battery cells, and therefore the polymers used are selected to be compatible with related electrolyte fluids, particularly because these foams are intended as a battery separator. Therefore, suitable cell opening properties and / or tunable pore sizes are preferably obtained by mixing different polymer matrices to obtain structural inhomogeneity consisting of hard and soft regions, by combining semi-crystalline polymers with different crystallization temperatures.

In an alternative embodiment to achieve the same, a (partial) polymer cross-linking strategy can be used to obtain hard and soft regions in the initial polymer matrix.

The above embodiment can be combined.

In a further embodiment, a combination or mixture of 2 or more polymer types according to the foregoing embodiments is used with proper selection of the weight fractions of the polymers.

The invention uses a nucleating agent to initiate the cavity opening process. Nucleating agents can include (but are not limited to): calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, magnesium hydroxide, calcium tungstate, magnesium oxide, lead oxide, barium oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, antimony oxide, boron nitride, magnesium carbonate, lead carbonate, zinc carbonate, barium carbonate, calcium silicate, aluminum silicate, non-carbon black, graphite -organic pigments, alumina, molybdenum disulphide, zinc stearate, PTFE particles, clay, calcium metasilicate, diatomaceous earth….

The invention further uses (and preferably in combination with the nucleating agent) a blowing (foaming) agent. Both physical and chemical foaming strategies can be used. For the chemical foaming route it is possible to use inorganic and organic foaming agents. Examples of inorganic chemical foaming agents are sodium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, ammonium bicarbonate and calcium azide. Examples of organic foaming agents are azodicarbonamide, hydrazocarbonamide, benzenesulfonyl hydrazide,

dinitrosopentamethylenetetramine, toluenesulfonyl hydrazide, p, p'-oxybis (benzenesulfonyl hydrazide), azobisisobutyronitrile and barium azodicarboxylate. As mentioned, the invention focuses on extrusion coating of the foam.

In a first embodiment thereof, direct coating of a foamed polymer on an Al and graphite substrate is used. The polymer is formulated with the additives and the chemical blowing agent. When moving from a high pressure environment to a low pressure environment at the exit, a foam is formed and coated on the substrate where an optimized calender roll gap will result in the desired foam separator on the substrate. A separate masterbatch of the foaming agent can be fed into the main hopper, or added later in the process via a side entry. The output of the polymer melt can be controlled with a gear pump.

In a second embodiment thereof, the polymer will be formulated with a chemical blowing agent that reacts at a temperature greater than the extrusion temperature of the polymer. An extrusion coating of the polymer compound is applied. After extrusion, the polymer coating is heated again above the foam temperature to form the desired foam separator. When using a physical blowing agent, preferably CO2 is used, but other gases such as nitrogen, argon, water, air, helium, hydrocarbons (such as methane, ethane, propane, for example), alcohols (methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, for example), can also contain chlorinated organic gases and hydrofluorocarbons are suitable. In a third embodiment, the additives are mixed in a twin screw extruder using a melt pump and die exit. The pressure drop is realized at the exit of the mold. CO2 is preferably injected into a mixing zone at the end of the extruder to generate the desired polymer foam which is then coated onto the substrate. In a fourth embodiment, a tandem extrusion set-up is used, in which CO2 is added in a first extruder and mixed in a polymer melt. This blend is injected into a secondary extruder, equipped with a gear pump and cooling unit, located at the die exit. Although a tandem extrusion setup is more complicated and can result in higher investment costs,

it provides better control of mixing and temperature fluctuations. The desired foam is then poured onto the substrate after exiting the dye.

Variations on one or more of the above options are also possible, where components are mixed in a first step by a twin screw extruder. After cooling, the compound is later added in a single screw extruder where CO 2 is added to form the foamed polymer films that are cast onto a substrate.

Molded polymer foams are poured onto the substrate directly at the exit of the mold via a calender roll to control foam thickness and cooling. The exit temperature of the dye and the aluminum substrate are controlled to control the integrity of the foam.

In addition to a nucleating agent and a suitable blowing agent, other additives are used. These additives are chain extenders, acid scavengers, antioxidants, bonding additives to improve the adhesion of aluminum substrates and plasticizers. To reinforce the inner walls of the foams, a cross-linking approach can be used, where the polymer system can be cross-linked during extrusion or at the die exit. Alternatively, post-foaming cross-linking strategies can be used. Cross-linking additives will depend on the nature of the base polymers and the extrusion temperature, but will mainly be aimed at thermally activated systems, where for post-extrusion cross-linking also UV-initiated cross-linking additives may be suitable.

In addition to the nature of the base polymer blend and the nature and concentration of the additive, the extrusion temperature and pressure drop at the dye outlet (Delta P) will also be optimized, as these parameters will determine the foam density, pore size and open-cell content strongly influence. The combination of polymer systems, additives, foaming agents and processing parameters is optimized such that the foam's open-cell content, dielectric properties and pore size are suitable for use as a battery separator with minimum foam density, maximum dielectric properties and maximum pore size to allow ion transport. In addition to this, extrusion coating process on calender rolls will be optimized to obtain proper foam thickness, adhesion and production homogeneity on the substrate. In summary, the invention provides: e A battery comprising (i) an anode, (ii) a cathode; (iii) a separator between the anode and the cathode; (iv) an electrolyte, between the anode and the cathode, characterized in that the separator is a polymer or polymer compound adapted for ion transport for the electrochemical system defined by the anode, cathode and electrolyte.

e A capacitor, comprising (i) an anode, (ii) a cathode; (iii) a dielectric, between the anode and the cathode, characterized in that the dielectric is a polymer or polymer compound.

e A method of roll or sheet based manufacturing, based on extrusion coating and any other in-line continuous coating process, coating an arrangement of materials for use in such a battery or capacitor and finally combining them to cut these and related material composition consisting of (i) granulates, (ii) one or more (foaming or dielectric) agents and / or coating materials.

Finally, some further considerations with regard to the invention are given below.

Throughout the description, the word battery or capacitor is used, but the invention also relates to any part of a battery or capacitor, such as any arrangement of materials for use in a battery or capacitor, including such features referred to as a battery or capacitor. capacitor cell, module and package in the field.

Likewise, the word battery or capacitor assembly is used throughout the description.

While assembly can be read on all the necessary steps to result in a functional battery or capacitor or even a series connection of batteries or capacitors, the invention again also relates to any part of a battery or capacitor, such as multilayer foil or sheet, which can are supplied as a roll, on which then (and possibly in a distant place) and depending on the configuration required further other processes such as providing conductors for connection purposes or insulators for heat sinks are carried out and followed by cutting the resulting foil or sheet to thereby finishing the so-called battery or capacitor module or package, which can then be further connected in series or parallel for the modular construction of an energy storage solution.

Note that the energy or capacity delivery parameters are essentially determined by the length of the cut sheet, while the voltage delivery parameter is essentially determined by the number of battery cells connected in series.

PACKAGE EMBODIMENT Given the above provided (multi-layer) films according to the invention, the invention further enables the assembly of battery packs. The large area cells are typically monolithically shaped battery or capacitor modules as compared to conventionally shaped battery or capacitor modules by labeling, wiring, connecting and assembling multiple smaller battery or capacitor cells in parallel.

Figure 9 shows an exemplary embodiment with a multilayer structure, moldable by the methods outlined above. Several of the above multilayer structures (which could be called modules) can now be stacked to form packages. Basically, as schematically indicated, the same (continuous) film with a large surface (cut to the correct length) is used and then further stacked. Providing the correct contacts in the correct places of the respective outer layers, the resulting cells are de facto connected (as required in series and / or parallel). The modules obtained can then be further connected to the same or comparable modules if necessary.

In view of the above provided (multilayer) foils (which can be considered as modules) in accordance with the invention, the invention further permits the assembly of battery or capacitor packs, in particular bipolar stacked battery or capacitor packs.

Figure 10 shows repetitive (N times) use of the methods described above. Figure 11 shows an exemplary embodiment with a multilayer structure obtainable by the methods of Figure 9 or 10.

Figure 12 (left) shows an exemplary embodiment with a multilayer structure, moldable with repeated (N times) use of the methods outlined above, to thereby obtain a battery or capacitor arrangement, which after providing connection means (labels and related wires) ) results in (serially and / or parallel) connected cells in larger modules or packages.

Figure 12 (right) shows an exemplary embodiment with a multilayer structure, moldable with repeated (N times) use of the methods outlined above, to thereby obtain a battery or capacitor arrangement with (intrinsically) serially connected cells in packs.

The above indicated that in one embodiment of the invention, a battery or capacitor cell consisting of two foils or sheets, each serving as part of the anode or cathode, respectively; and a separator and electrolyte or dielectric therebetween, wherein the foils or sheets are (nearly) identical and preferably identical.

The novelty of a cell architecture as part of the invention is its symmetry with the exact same substrate for the current collectors or capacitor plates on both sides of the battery or capacitor cell and where the current collector or capacitor plate substrates are at the same time the substrates used in and compatible. with cheap and abundantly available production capacity.

In Li-ion cells, the current collector for the cathode is Al and for the anode is Cu.

Al cannot be used as a current collector for the anode as it would dissolve in the electrolyte with the appropriate strong redox potentials.

Cu could be used as a current collector for the cathode, but Cu is much less compatible and not even compatible with the intended mainstream production methods and is more expensive than Al.

Current dual ion non-rocking chair battery cells cannot use Al as a cathode side current collector, as it would similarly dissolve in the electrolyte with the highly applicable redox potentials.

Therefore, the invented cell architecture includes layers of protection on one or both sides of the battery cell to allow symmetrical battery cells with current collector substrates that are preferably inexpensive, abundant and used in regular high volume production environments from unrelated sectors.

Therefore, the cell architecture includes two identical outer foils or sheets used in cell manufacturing as substrates to coat all remaining cell components such as the protective layers, graphite layers and the separator or dielectric in the case of capacitors.

The symmetry, with Al foil as a current collector for battery cells on both sides made possible by the inclusion of inexpensive protective layers, has three main advantages that allow the cost of the cell unit to be drastically reduced.

First, a single Al foil can be coated, calendered, dried and cut into segments in a continuous roll to roll process using regular extrusion coating, liquid coating, aerosol, sputtering, evaporation and other deposition techniques used in the plastic and paper packaging are used as well as in the semiconductor industries. Al has good mechanical properties such as tensile strength and flexibility for low-cost roll-to-roll processing. Al foil usage is already based on 75% recycled Al and the recycling ecosystem is one of the most established among all materials. Hence, end-of-life costs also remain competitive. Thus, the distinguishing feature of cell manufacturing enabled by the cell architecture versus current practices is that there is no stacking or assembly to complete the entire battery cell. Avoiding stacking or assembling at the cell level significantly increases production throughput, lowering the unit cost of the final battery cell and package. Another distinguishing feature is that cutting segments of the entire film determines the capacity and energy rating of the final battery system comprising the battery cells. In other words, the foil battery cell is the monolithic equivalent of small battery cells connected in parallel and is assembled into what are known today as battery modules. The cost of labeling, wiring, connection, assembly and housing in a discrete module is completely eliminated and contributes greatly to lowering the unit cost of the final battery system.

The ease of cutting segments of the battery foil gives cell manufacturers an additional competitive advantage where supply and demand in terms of capacity and energy can be met directly in the cell factory. No line configurations are required and no need to transport battery cells to assembly plants. The same advantages apply to the capacitor arrangements.

The symmetry of the cell and the ability to process all of the cell components on a single Al foil with each half cell on either side of the single Al foil also allows for a plurality of these cells to be stacked on top of each other, with the stack volumetric and the gravimetric energy and power density is exactly the same as the volumetric and gravimetric cell densities of each individual cell in the stack. In other words, the cell architecture allows for the production of battery packs without the need for individual labeling, wiring, connection, assembly and housing of the constituent battery cells, which in turn greatly contributes to reducing the unit cost of the final battery system.

The inferior battery cell density resulting from selecting battery cell technologies that utilize as many simple and easy-to-manufacture coatings as possible with inexpensive, abundant and easily recyclable materials is greatly offset by the optimum battery pack density that otherwise could never be achieved without the use of battery cell architecture.

The new battery cell architecture leads to a new battery pack stack architecture whose width and length determine the capacity and energy rating of the final battery pack, while the height of the stack determines the voltage and power rating.

The compact stack, where width, length and height can be easily chosen in the battery cell factory over a continuum in terms of dimensions, can accommodate any available enclosure such as standard shipping containers, realizing optimal fill factors limited only by payload considerations for transportation.

The same benefits apply to capacitor arrangements.

The battery stack can be further improved with an embedded cooling system where the outer Al foils used for the battery cells are larger than the required processing area.

The extensions in both planar directions around the final battery cell are effective heat sinks that can be supplemented with a passive or active cooling system.

The Al foils of the stack could be located in a chamber that includes an insulating refrigerant between the housing around the battery stack and an outer housing and where the refrigerant may be stationary or actively circulate and cool via an external heat exchanger.

The residual heat can further be used for energy generation or storage.

The Al foils can also be extended further outside the refrigerant chamber, exposed to the ambient air temperature.

The inner and outer casings of the cooling chamber also have excellent thermal properties to effectively dissipate the heat generated by the stack together with the other components of the cooling system.

In addition, insulating layers on the edges of the current collector or capacitor plate foils can be coated before the foil or sheet is cut, in the same way as the other cell components, but on other parts of the foil at possibly different locations in the production line.

Figure 15 illustrates a stack provided with heat exchanger elements. (2000) designates a heat-exchanging electrically non-conductive medium or circulating refrigerant (liquid, gas or air). (2010) represents a chamber (dotted line) in housing with heat-conducting walls that retain the refrigerant. In the absence of such a chamber, the insulated AL foils or current collector or capacitor plate are exposed to ambient air. A combination of these techniques can be used. (2020) shows an electrical insulation layer but modified for heat dissipation.

Given the distinctive nature of the large area battery cells without having to assemble a large number of small battery cells in modules and modules in packages, the battery management system and its related models, algorithms, software and hardware implementations will be fundamentally different from existing systems. The cell number is drastically reduced.

Cell balancing may not be required when the process variability for making cells is kept to a minimum threshold. Using a single AI foil and only a few known coating processes will greatly improve minimal process variability compared to current cell manufacturing practices. When cell balancing is not required, a black box approach to modeling the stack with the number of cells and their dimensions as a variable could lead to a fairly simple and inexpensive battery management system with highly integrated programmable electronics, thus small form factor.

Since the cell architecture relies on the electrolyte as a source for both ions to be stored on both sides of the battery cell, changes in the mass or gravity of the electrolyte during charging or discharging can be monitored to determine the state of charge of a battery cell. to lead. Again, when the cell production process variability across all cells is reduced below a certain threshold, monitoring one battery cell in the stack can be enough to infer the charge status of the entire stack, reducing the cost of sensors, wiring and control electronics is significantly reduced. Likewise, monitoring the capacity of the stack is an inexpensive black box approach to determine the health of the battery stack and its constituent battery cells when the process variability in cell creation is below a certain threshold level.

For certain electrolytes, the voltage curve of the stack is expected to be very flat.

This is a desirable feature as it contributes to a higher return rate.

With a flat voltage curve, the voltage sampling resolution must be extremely high in order to accurately track the state of charge and the health of the battery stack.

Therefore, programmable logic based on physical models of the battery stack will be used that enables real-time, deterministic and fast control loops.

In the event that the process variability in cell creation cannot be reduced below a certain threshold level and therefore cell balancing (both electrical and thermal) in the stack is required during charge and discharge, programmable logic processing of all cells will extend the life of significantly improve each individual cell and thus the life of the stack.

Finally, as mentioned before, the dimensions of the battery stack can be selected immediately in the battery cell factory, hence the height can be selected to optimally match the required voltage level from the grid or micro-grid link.

In addition, grid integration becomes easier and cheaper by avoiding transformers and inverters and by using standard inverters.

Hence, flexibility in making cells, enabled by the cell architecture, not only allows wide product variation for many applications on the same cell production line, but also allows to minimize costs at the system level.

In addition to the use of protective layers that enable symmetrical battery cells produced with Al foils and regular coating production, a truly 100% continuous in-line cell production process without a single stacking or assembly step during cell making is enabled through an in-line coating process of the separator on the anode side of the same Al foil.

Today, battery cells are stacked by assembling the two electrodes with a separator in between.

Nowadays the separator is always manufactured separately and delivered to the cell manufacturer by a contractor.

Rather than providing a separator, a masterbatch that can be easily shipped in bulk will be a consumable item used in cell making.

When, according to the prior art, the three lead times of the three - coating processes for the protective, graphite and separator layers are fairly close together, a continuous roll-to-roll process will result in maximum throughput of the cell manufacturing process compared to the current cell production.

Given the simple grouping of large area cells at the end of the line in stacks, the stack throughput is sure to beat the current packet production throughput.

With larger battery cells and a smaller cell count in a stack, the electrolyte filling is also expected to take less time than the current filling of a much larger number of small cells that require much more complex robotics. It is also expected that the sealing of all battery cells that are simply grouped and stacked on top of each other will be in batches of a plurality of cells, rather than sealing each individual cell. Likewise, fitting necessary insulating materials around the power collectors or capacitor plates for cooling purposes avoids tedious and costly retrofitting.

In other words, the described cell architecture for large area cells leads to many advantages with regard to the product, production and integration of the product in its typical networks, and primarily to cost-effective levels in terms of power and energy ratings. Similar benefits apply to capacitor arrangements.

Finally, the large areas of the battery or capacitor cells that can be made using the new cell architecture and using all in-line roll-to-roll coating processes cannot be made with the current state of the art for making cells, which in any case require stacking or assembly steps. The surface area of the cell is limited by the largest substrate that can be made with the most modern (available) machines. In particular, the complexity of current and emerging coatings for both the cathode and anode (e.g., Si instead of graphite anodes or Li-titanate) is the limiting factor and will remain a limiting factor due to the nature of the electrochemical operating principles. It is extremely difficult to maintain the correct stoichiometry of a complex composite layer (usually oxides) on larger surfaces due to process limitations. In addition, maintaining the same process conditions for millions of cathodes will be more challenging with larger surfaces. Therefore, the cell architecture that allows the use of commonly proven large-scale coating methods leads to cell regions that are not feasible with the current state of the art cell production methods. Therefore, battery or capacitor cells that are much larger than 100 cm2 are a novelty in themselves. A cell stack or package much larger than

100 cm2 does not exist nowadays.

In addition, the upper limit on the cell surface is basically limited only to the longest Al foil rolls available in the industry, as well as the widest rolls that can be used to coat the layers needed in the battery or capacitor cell architecture.

In addition, a cell stack or pack with double-sided electrodes is also a novelty.

Cells or stacks using current collectors or capacitor plates as heat sinks is a novelty.

Cells or stacks using in-line coated separators is a novelty.

Finally, cooling systems embedded in the cell stack and using programmable controllers that provide real-time, deterministic and safe control loops and which can be easily scaled with a larger number of large area cells in a stack are novelties at the system level.

The cell architecture allows for bipolar stacking, which leads to a transverse electronic charge flow across the entire Al foil surface, as opposed to a lateral flow in current battery cells.

This makes the aluminum foils thinner and gives a more homogeneous interface kinetics and heat distribution.

In addition to battery cells and stacks, the method of continuous in-line processing of dielectric layers is also suitable for supercapacitors and large area stacks, where a high dielectric coating is extruded or liquid coated or cast on both sides on a single aluminum foil and calendered with two other Al foils to form a double-stacked capacitor with one common capacitor plate.

This process can be repeated, again extruding the same dielectric below and above the double stack, or liquid coating, or casting and calendering with two other aluminum foils to form a quaternary stacked supercapacitor with three common plates.

An n stacked capacitor would have (n-1) common plates that are essential to avoid air or water between two successive stacked capacitors.

Otherwise, the permittivity of the air or water in between would drastically reduce the capacity of the entire stack.

In addition, the method enables ultra-high voltage supercapacitors, simplifying grid integration and eliminating power electronics such as transformers, converters and switches.

The dielectric is a composite of high dielectric ceramic powders such as BaTiO3, SrTiO3, BaxSr1-xTio2 and CaCu3Ti4012 in a polymer matrix that can be extruded or liquid coated or cast onto high surface area Al foils.

The flexibility of the resulting film allows extremely thin layers of the dielectric coating and extremely large surfaces to be rolled up.

Since the capacitance is proportional to the permittivity of the layer and the area of the aluminum foils and inversely proportional to the thickness of the dielectric layer between the aluminum foils, this method leads to extremely high capacitance densities that are useful in net applications, e.g. to stabilize voltage, power quality, frequency, temporary storage, etc.

In addition, extremely high voltage stacked capacitors can be realized and the response and switching speeds are extremely high compared to conventional super caps or batteries used for auxiliary grid services.

It is also expected that the composite, if properly selected, can exhibit extremely high thermal stability and possibly also voltage stability, which in turn contributes to high Q factors, hence the power quality in the grids.

Needless to say, the cell is much simpler compared to the symmetrical cell architecture proposed for batteries, especially given the solid nature of the layer between the aluminum foils and the fact that there are no leakage and corrosivity issues, making these devices extremely safe compared to conventional electrolyte super caps.

In addition, given the use of common roll-to-roll, cutting and grouping manufacturing methods, the rapid scaling-up and doubling of production capacity in the plastic packaging industry, these super caps will definitely be an order of magnitude lower in capacity and power unit cost than any super cap technology. also currently available on the market.

Due to the modular nature of the storage unit, cost-effective mass storage becomes possible and storage units can be easily transported to another location in the grid if desired.

The above considerations can be reformulated as follows: In a further embodiment thereof in this battery cell, at least one of the foils or sheet, preferably both, is provided with a protective layer to protect against dissolution of (part of) the foil or sheet in the electrolyte.

Within those concepts of the battery cells, one can choose to implement a double ion cell.

It is also worth noting that in the above battery cells, the anode and / or cathode are designed to simultaneously serve as charge storage and current draw,

more specifically, the charge storage function is provided by using graphite deposition processing to thereby create an active layer. In an exemplary embodiment, the cathode and / or the anode, preferably both, is based on an Al foil, preferably provided with a protective layer applied thereon. In a further advantageous embodiment, the cathode and / or the anode, preferably both, are used as a heat sink (by designing the area of the current collectors or capacitor plates to be larger than the active area of the cell and designed for exposure to ambient air and / or to soak in an (electrically insulating) coolant, possibly in combination with active circulation of the coolant). These current collectors or capacitor foils can first be provided with insulating layers at the edges before cutting. It is also worth emphasizing that the approaches outlined above make it possible to fabricate battery or capacitor cells where the anode and cathode area is greater than 100 cm2.

Note that the above approaches allow for the manufacture of films or sheets that can be considered as half cells in the sense that when properly combined, cells are defined. Within such an approach, those battery cells will share a common foil or sheet as a current collector or capacitor plate. Therefore, one can consider a battery or capacitor arrangement, even a package, comprising a number of battery or capacitor cells, where successive battery or capacitor cells share a foil or sheet.

With reference to the exemplary embodiment above, the invention also discloses an Al foil or sheet, suitable for use in a battery or capacitor cell (or the monolithic equivalent of a module), as an anode or cathode, characterized in that said foil or sheet is provided with a protective layer, especially on the cathode side.

In a further embodiment thereof, said foil or sheet is supplemented with a graphite deposit, thereby creating an active layer to provide a charge storage function. The aforementioned foil or sheet is therefore typically provided on both sides with the one or more of the layers and preferably also provided with the separator. The related fabrication methods for the (nearly) identical foil cells can be described as follows: Indeed, the invention provides a method for manufacturing an array of materials for use in a battery or capacitor cell based on a roll or sheet, comprising the steps of: i) providing a (carrier) material, suitable to serve as an anode or cathode, as a sheet or foil; (ii) applying one or more further materials to said material.

In a first embodiment, the further material is suitable to act as a separator, preferably the further material is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte.

In a second embodiment, the further material is adapted to act as an active material within a battery to provide a charge storage function.

In a third embodiment, the further material is suitable for acting as a protective layer on the (carrier) material (to protect against dissolving (part of) the foil or the sheet in the electrolyte).

Based on the above, the invention also discloses a method of manufacturing a battery or capacitor (cell), comprising (a) performing one or more of the above-described methods for a first time (in successive steps); (b) performing one or more of those methods a second time on the other side of the (support) material used in step (a).

For the sake of completeness, for the invented storage devices (battery (cell), capacitor) with their structural and / or electrical characteristics, alternative and more suitable monitoring and / or control methods can be used using those characteristics.

Therefore, the invention further relates to: Monitoring of the charge status / discharge capacity via indirect monitoring of the specific gravity by means of hydrostatic pressure and / or other float level measurements of the electrolyte. By (semi) continuously measuring the height of the liquid and the hydrostatic pressure at one or more points, the changing electrolyte density is obtained. Essentially, two small sensors are used that examine the fluid in one or more or all of the cells in a stack. Since the source of the double ions is the electrolyte, there will be a meaningful change in the electrolyte density from discharged to charged states and vice versa. Measuring the curve relating the electrolyte density to the capacity of the cell provides the model that can be used in a BMS (battery measurement system). Especially considering that the voltage curve of the KFSI cell is extremely flat, the voltage method is useless unless you can track voltage changes at extremely high resolutions, requiring high performance based microcontrollers that are not currently available. In addition, it may be necessary to monitor cell voltages rather than stack voltages and with a greater number of cells, the computing needs of controllers become even more challenging and thus more expensive.

The invention also provides charge status / discharge capacity monitoring by utilizing a real-time programmable voltage control logic using ultra-high voltage resolution to track the capacitance on the flat voltage curve of KFSI cells or stacks (stacks have higher resolutions than cells as the absolute value is higher at the stack level, so the same deviations are much smaller percentages than at the cell level). The programming of the logic can be based on detailed characterization based on a previous method (using hydrostatic pressure and at least one other accurate float level measurement technique), even when aging with characterization during an accelerated aging cycle. Incorporating aging data into the logic programming has the advantage of not having to be calibrated during its lifetime, avoiding on-site maintenance. Also, characterization of a multitude of cells and simultaneous high-resolution stack voltage monitoring could reveal an accurate stack-level black box monitoring method that would significantly reduce H / W and S / W costs. Note that the larger the cells in the area, the more variables override, leading to effective stack-level black box control.

The invention further provides a charge / discharge controller based on the same programmable platform. In addition to voltage monitoring above during characterization, capacitance and currents are also monitored to generate additional datasets for programming the logic to optimize cell life and thus stacks.

The invention further offers status monitoring based on the same programmable platform based on capacity monitoring to the highest saturation voltage level.

The invention offers an advantageous use of the programmable logic approach in that proprietary data sets, specifically generated with respect to each electrolyte used in the proposed cells, are used, in particular for the dual ion single (dual) graphite battery arrangements described in the full description. The invention can be formalized as follows:

A battery comprising (i) an anode, (ii) a cathode; (iii) a separator between the anode and the cathode; (iv) an electrolyte, between the anode and the cathode, characterized in that the separator is a foamed polymer or a foamed polymer compound, adapted for ion transport for the electrochemical system defined by the anode, cathode and electrolyte.

2. The battery of 1, with the separator in contact with either the anode, the cathode, or both.

3. The battery of 2, wherein said separator contacts both said anode and said cathode and wherein said electrolyte is provided substantially within a portion of said separator, which is therefore adapted.

4. The battery of 2, wherein said separator is attached or attached to either said anode, said cathode or both.

The battery of one of the foregoing possibilities, wherein said foamed polymer is adapted to tolerate the presence of said electrolyte, in particular said foamed polymer is cross-linked.

The battery of any of the foregoing, wherein the foamed polymer comprises an open cell structure.

7. The battery of one of the foregoing possibilities, wherein either the anode or the cathode or both is of a single material or complex structure (layered, composite, alloyed, meshed, perforated, roughened) (to provide the contact surface for active layer loading. enlarge) or laminated with a rough or roughened carrier).

8. The battery according to one of the preceding possibilities, wherein either the anode or the cathode or both are coated with one or more coatings.

The battery according to any one of the preceding possibilities, wherein the material, structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in the roll-to-roll production of either the anode or cathode or both.

The battery according to one of the preceding possibilities, wherein the material, structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in roll-to-roll continuous production of the in-line secured (integrated or embedded) separator anode or cathode arrangement.

11. The battery of any one of the foregoing items, wherein the anode is Al or any conductive materials with or without a support, especially alkali metals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, lithium, carbon materials such as carbon powders, graphites in any form, nanotubes, nanorods, nanobuds, graphene, superconductors with a coating of active materials such as graphite, all kinds of carbon, silicon, polypyrene, etc.

12. The battery of any of the foregoing items, wherein the cathode is any conductive material with or without a support such as ... TiN, CrN, Tungsten or any of the above conductive materials from the anode side with a coating of active materials such as graphite, all types of carbon, silicon, etc ...

A method of manufacturing a roll or sheet based production of an arrangement of materials for use in a battery as in 1, comprising the steps of: (i) providing a (carrier) material suitable to serve as anode or cathode, as a plate or foil; (ii) applying a foamed polymer to said material, suitable to act as a separator.

The method of 13, wherein step (ii) comprises an (extrusion) coating process comprising (i) granulates defining the polymer and (ii) one or more foaming agents.

The method of 14, wherein the (extrusion) coating process is further provided with one or more additives to attach the foamed polymer to the anode or cathode foil.

16. Method according to 15, comprising a step of attaching the foamed polymer to the (carrier) material, more in particular the step is a printing step.

17. The method of any of the above, further comprising a step of ensuring that the foamed polymer is adapted to tolerate the presence of the electrolyte, in particular by providing cross-linking in the polymer, in particular but not limited to the step is a UV curing and / or heating step.

A composition of materials selected for use in the method of any preceding claim comprising (i) granules defining the polymer or polymer compound, (ii) one or more foaming agents.

19. The composition of materials of 17, further comprising (iii) one or more additives such as, but not limited to, adhesion-improving agents, antioxidants, dyes such as dyes and pigments, processing aids, fillers, anti-static agents, agents that increase the influence conductivity of the polymer matrix.

A method for providing a battery as in 1 adapted in terms of one or more parameters, the method comprising: (i) loading the parameters; (ii) determining the length and / or width of the anode and / or cathode based on the parameters; (iii) providing said anode and / or cathode of said determined length and / or width by cutting off an arrangement of material comprising a (support) material suitable to act as an anode or cathode; and a foamed polymer, suitable to act as a separator, on said material, optionally prepared by the method of any one of items 13 to 17; and (iv) assemble a battery cell therewith.

The method of 20, wherein the cutting step is part of sheet or roll based processing.

22. A foil or sheet for use with (manufacture, preferably in accordance with the method of 20 or 21) the battery of 1, the foil or sheet being optionally made according to the methods of 13 to 17, wherein the foil or sheet is the sheet comprises a (carrier) material suitable for acting as an anode or cathode; and a foamed polymer on the material, suitable for acting as a separator.

23. The foil or sheet of 22 is supplied on a roll.

24. The film or sheet of 22 or 23, wherein said foamed polymer is attached with additives to said (support) material.

25. The foil or sheet of any one of 22 to 24, wherein the foamed polymer is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte, in particular by providing cross-linking in the polymer.

A method of manufacturing a roll or sheet-based production of an arrangement of materials for use in a battery cell, comprising the steps of: (i) providing a (carrier) material suitable for serving as an anode or cathode , as a sheet or foil; (ii) applying another material to the material, suitable to act as a separator, preferably the further material is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte.

A method of providing a battery cell, adapted in terms of one or more parameters, the method comprising: (i) loading the parameters; (ii) determining the length and / or width of the anode and / or cathode based on the parameters; (iii) providing said anode and / or cathode of said determined length and / or width by cutting off an arrangement of material comprising a (support) material suitable to act as an anode or cathode; and another material, suitable to act as a separator, on the material, optionally made by the method of 26; and (iv) assemble a battery therewith.

28. The method of 27, wherein said cutting step is part of sheet or roll based processing.

29. A foil or sheet for use in (manufacture, preferably in accordance with the method of 27 or 28) a battery, the foil or sheet being optionally made according to the methods of 26, wherein the foil or sheet has a ( carrier) material suitable as an anode or cathode; and a further material on the material suitable for acting as a separator.

30. The foil or sheet of 29 is supplied on a roll.

31. The foil or sheet of 29 or 30, wherein the further material is attached with additives to the (carrier) material.

32. The foil or sheet of any one of 29 to 31, wherein the further material is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte.

A method of manufacturing a roll or sheet-based production of an arrangement of materials for use in a battery, comprising the steps of: (i) providing a (carrier) material, as a sheet or foil; (ii) providing another material on said material, capable of acting as an active material in a battery.

34. The method of 33, wherein step (ii) comprises an (extrusion) coating process or an aerosol technique.

A method of providing a battery cell, adapted in terms of one or more parameters, the method comprising: (i) loading the parameters; (ii) determining the length and / or width of the anode and / or cathode based on the parameters; (iii) providing said anode and / or cathode of said determined length and / or width by cutting an arrangement of material comprising a (support) material; and a further material, adapted to act as active material within a battery cell, on said material, made optional by the method of 33 or 34; and (iv) assemble a battery therewith.

36. The method of 35, wherein the cutting step is part of sheet or film based processing.

37. A foil or sheet for use in (manufacture, preferably in accordance with the method of 35 or 36) a battery, the foil or sheet being optionally manufactured by the methods of 33 or 34, wherein the foil or sheet comprises a (carrier) material; and another material on the material, capable of acting as an active material in a battery cell.

38. The foil or sheet of 37 is supplied on a roll.

39. A method of manufacturing a battery comprising performing the method of 33 a first time to provide an anode by applying an Al sheet and graphite (via mixture coating, ie coating with a mixture) as further ( active) to apply material thereon (and thereafter a separator material thereon); performing the method of 33 a second time to provide a cathode by applying a plastic sheet and first a carbon layer (such as nanotubes, nanobuds, graphene, etc ... via an aerosol technique) as further material on top (and then (via mixture coating) ) a graphite layer thereon); and finally combining both generated material arrangements.

40. A battery arrangement, comprising a number of battery parts, each derived from the same foil or sheet as in 38, said parts being provided with means for realizing (serial and / or parallel) connection of those parts when they are placed side by side in such a manner. an arrangement.

41. A battery arrangement, comprising a plurality of battery parts (serially connected), each derived from successively applying the method of 39 to a previously obtained film.

42. The battery arrangement of 41, wherein the outer battery parts are provided with means for realizing an external connection of those parts.

As mentioned, many of the above considerations can also be made for a capacitor, in which case a dielectric layer is provided instead of a separator.

Claims (31)

Conclusions A method for manufacturing an arrangement of materials for use in a battery (cell) based on a roll or sheet, comprising the following steps: (i) providing a (carrier) material suitable for serving as an anode or cathode, as a sheet or foil; (ii) applying one or more further materials to said material, wherein the further material is suitable to act as a separator, the separator being a foamed polymer, comprising an (extrusion) coating process, provided with (i) granulates, which defines the polymer and (ii) one or more blowing or foaming agents, preferably also nucleating agents, are used. The method of claim 1, wherein the further material is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the (extrusion) coating process is further provided with one or more additives to attach the foamed polymer to the anode or cathode (foil). Method according to claim 3, comprising a step of attaching the foamed polymer to the (carrier) material, more in particular the step is a printing step. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 2, 3 or 4, further comprising a step of ensuring that the foamed polymer is adapted to tolerate the presence of the electrolyte, in particular by providing cross-linking in the polymer , in particular but not limited to said step is a UV curing and / or heating step. A battery (cell), comprising (i) an anode, (ii) a cathode; (iii) a separator between the anode and the cathode; (iv) an electrolyte, between the anode and the cathode, characterized in that the separator is a foamed polymer or a foamed polymer compound, adapted for ion transport for the electrochemical system defined by the anode, cathode and electrolyte, the separator contacting either the anode, the cathode or both and wherein either the anode or the cathode is either both of a single material or of a complex (layered, composite, alloy, mesh, perforated, roughened or laminated with a rough or roughened support) structure and the material, structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in roll-to-roll production of the anode or cathode or both. The battery (cell) of claim 6, wherein the separator contacts both the anode and the cathode and wherein the electrolyte is substantially disposed in a portion of the separator which is adapted accordingly. The battery (cell) of claim 6 or 7, wherein the separator is attached or attached to either the anode, the cathode or both. Battery (cell) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said foamed polymer is adapted to tolerate the presence of said electrolyte, in particular said foamed polymer is crosslinked. The battery (cell) of any preceding claim, wherein the foamed polymer comprises an open cell structure. The battery of any of the foregoing, wherein the foamed polymer comprises an open cell structure. The battery according to any one of the preceding possibilities, wherein either the anode or the cathode or both are coated with one or more coatings. The battery according to any one of the preceding possibilities, wherein the material, structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in the roll-to-roll production of either the anode or cathode or both. The battery according to one of the preceding possibilities, wherein the material, structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in roll-to-roll continuous production of the in-line secured (integrated or embedded) separator anode or cathode arrangement. 14. The battery of any of the foregoing items, wherein the anode is Al or any conductive materials with or without a support, especially alkali metals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, lithium, carbon materials such as carbon powders, graphites in any form, nanotubes, nanorods, nanobuds, graphene, superconductors with a coating of active materials such as graphite, all kinds of carbon, silicon, polypyrene, etc. 15. The battery of any of the foregoing items, wherein the cathode is any conductive material with or without a support such as ... TiN, CrN, Tungsten or any of the above conductive materials from the anode side with a coating of active materials such as graphite, all types of carbon, silicon, etc ... Battery (cell) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising two foils or sheets, each serving as part of the anode and the cathode, respectively, the foils or sheets being identical. Battery (cell) according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the foils or sheet, preferably both, is provided with a protective layer (TiN, CrN, Tungsten) to protect (or be (corrosion resistant or oxidatively stable) against dissolving) of (part of) the foil or sheet in the electrolyte. The battery (cell) of any one of the preceding claims, being a double ion cell. Battery (cell) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the anode and / or cathode is designed to simultaneously serve as a charge storage location and current consumption. The battery (cell) of claim 16, wherein the charge store function is provided by using graphite deposition processing to thereby create an active layer. A battery (cell) according to any one of the preceding claims 13 to 17, wherein the cathode and / or the anode, preferably both, is based on an Al foil, preferably provided with a protective layer applied thereon. The battery (cell) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cathode and / or the anode, preferably both, are used as a heat sink by designing the area of the current collectors to be larger than the active area of the cell and designed for exposure to ambient air and / or for soaking in an (electrically insulating) refrigerant, possibly in combination with active circulation of the refrigerant, provided with an insulating but thermally conductive layer at the edges outside the active area on the current collectors before foil is cut. 23. An arrangement of materials for use in a battery (cell), comprising a (carrier) material, suitable to serve as an anode or cathode, as a sheet or foil, wherein either the anode or the cathode of a complex (layered, composite , alloy, mesh, perforated, roughened or laminated with a rough or roughened support structure and the structure and / or coatings are suitable for use in the roll-to-roll production of the anode or cathode or both; one or more further materials on said material, wherein the separator is a foamed polymer. 24. The arrangement of materials of claim 23, wherein the further material is adapted to tolerate the presence of electrolyte. 25. The arrangement of materials of claim 23 or 24, wherein either the anode or the cathode or both are coated with one or more coatings. 26. The arrangement of materials of claim 23, 24 or 25, wherein the sheet or foil is provided with a protective layer (TiN, CrN, Tungsten) to protect (or be (corrosion resistant or oxidatively stable) against dissolution) of (a part of) the foil or sheet in the electrolyte. The arrangement of materials according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the anode and / or cathode is designed to simultaneously serve as a charge store and current draw. 28. The arrangement of materials of claim 10, wherein the charge storage function is provided by using graphite deposition processing to thereby create an active layer. The arrangement of materials according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cathode and / or the anode, preferably both, is based on an Al foil, preferably provided with a protective layer applied thereon. The arrangement of materials according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cathode and / or the anode are used as a heat sink by designing the area of the current collectors to be larger than the active area of the cell and designed for exposure to ambient air and / or to soak in an (electrically insulating) coolant, possibly in combination with active circulation of the coolant, provided with an insulating but thermally conductive layer at the edges outside the active area on the current collectors before foil is cut. The arrangement of materials according to any preceding claim provided in a roll.