A Comparison of Standard SEI Growth Models in the Context of Battery Formation

Growth of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) layer on negative electrode particles during the formation cycle is one of the most complex and least understood steps of lithium-ion battery manufacturing. This initial SEI formation significantly impacts battery performance, lifetime, and degradation. Zero-dimensional models, which reduce the complexity of SEI’s morphology, material, and structure, are commonly used to study long-term SEI growth rates and capacity fade. These models are derived based on limiting mechanisms. We aim to compare the most common SEI growth models, focusing on the first few cycles at low C-rates representing formation protocols. Using consistent parameters across models, we seek to understand if they can capture the dynamics of SEI formation. We conducted qualitative comparisons with experimental measurements of Coulombic efficiency in 2032-type coin cells at low C-rate. Our analysis shows that the models predict SEI growth in the first cycle to be higher than in subsequent cycles. However, the difference between cycles in these models is insufficient to explain the experimental results, which indicate a capacity fade during the first cycle that is two orders of magnitude higher than in later cycles. This suggests new models are needed to accurately describe the physics of the formation cycle.