Application of Thin Lithium Foil for Direct Contact Prelithiation of Anodes within Lithium-Ion Battery Production

The rapid advancement and complex requirements of the automotive and energy storage industries require lithium-ion batteries with improved energy density and cycle life. The addition of lithium during lithium-ion battery production, known as prelithiation, has been shown to significantly improve these two performance indicators. This paper addresses the challenges of understanding the novel technology of prelithiation and its integration into industrial battery cell production. Different prelithiation processes are analyzed and evaluated. The requirements for a series-capable process are derived and result in a suitable process design for the prelithiation of anodes within the lithium-ion battery production.