M. Rosenberg
Prieto Battery, Inc., Colorado, United States
Keywords: Fast charging, safe battery, survivable, damage tolerant, wide temperature operation
Prieto’s 3D battery is one of a kind. It is safe with no thermal runaway, is smaller, lighter and charges faster than today’s batteries; can tolerate repeated zero-volt discharges; operates over a wide temperature range; and is able to survive and continue operating after piercing of the cell. Today’s batteries cannot meet the needs of the military requirements of fast charging, high energy density, safety and wide temperature range. Today’s batteries are based on 2D geometries that require large electrode footprint areas or stacking to achieve large capacities. This results in a tradeoff – thicker batteries hold more energy but charge slowly due to longer ion pathways. Conversely, high power batteries are thin and thus compromise energy density. Today’s batteries also require a flammable liquid electrolyte that makes them unsafe and unsuitable for wide temperature ranges. Prieto’s battery overcomes these limitations with its novel 3D architecture. Large surface area results in more energy storage. Short ion pathways on each tendril results in hyper-fast charging (and discharging). Prieto’s patented gelled polymer electrolyte, coupled with the 3D architecture, enables its unique safety characteristics.