The world’s first battery without permanent chemicals

Ateios Systems, a US-based battery component manufacturer, announced the successful manufacture of RaiCore high voltage lithium cobalt oxide (HV LCO) electrodes, Interesting Engineering The new electrode enables the world’s first rechargeable lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) battery that does not contain perfluoroalkoxy, a type of PFA, or forever chemical.

Comprising more than 4,700 chemicals, PFAs are a widely used group of man-made chemicals that accumulate in the human body and the environment over time, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). They are known as forever chemicals because they are extremely persistent. They can lead to health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, reproductive problems and cancer.

Prototype batteries using RaiCore electrodes developed by Ateios Systems have an energy density 15-20% higher than standard LCO batteries. They are also capable of maintaining over 80% capacity after 1,000 charge-discharge cycles at 1 degree Celsius and 100% depth of discharge.

The company says the new electrode will be competitively priced with other cobalt-based electrodes. The electrode manufacturing process uses PFA-free, energy-curable polymers instead of traditional heat-curable polymers.

A large part of the current lithium-ion battery market caters to consumer durables and other electronic products such as smartphones, wearables, power tools, drones. The new LCO battery can cater to this segment, providing an environmentally friendly option in the battery market.

Ateios Systems has partnered with several device developers to evaluate the real-world performance and integration of RaiCore. One of Ateios Systems’ partners is the soft goods technology company Softmatter. Softmatter will integrate the new electrode into a variety of device types, including wearables, augmented reality (AR) devices, or virtual reality (VR).