A thermal-assisted fast-charging lithium-ion battery enabled by crosstalk-suppressing electrolyte and separator engineering

The realization of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft demands lithium-ion batteries capable of extremely fast charging without compromising energy density or cycle life, especially under elevated temperatures that boost kinetics. While thermal assistance is promising, it aggravates parasitic reactions, notably electrode crosstalk, which leads to rapid failure. Here, we report a materials engineering solution that suppresses this dominant degradation pathway. We design a crosstalk-mitigating electrolyte to build a robust cathode–electrolyte interphase, reducing species generation. Concurrently, we engineer a nanoporous separator that acts as a selective barrier, inhibiting species migration. This dual strategy enables practical 1 Ah LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 ||graphite pouch cells with high-loading electrodes to deliver unprecedented durability under extreme conditions: 80.06% capacity retention after 900 cycles at 5 C and 80 °C. Remarkably, the 6 C discharge capacity retention surges from 39.32% at room temperature to 93.65% at 80 °C, effectively decoupling the power–energy trade-off that has long plagued eVTOL batteries. This work for the first time identifies cathode-to-anode crosstalk as the dominant failure pathway under thermal stress and proposes a coupled materials engineering strategy to simultaneously suppress both the generation and the migration of crosstalk species.