Holst Centre charged with funding for solid-state battery demonstrator
The national and regional governments are providing TNO and Holst Centre with funding to set up a production line to demonstrate the viability and cost-effective manufacturability of 3D solid-state lithium-ion batteries.
The initiative builds on the development of a new solid-state battery concept based on micropillars, which promises decreased weight, enhanced safety, faster charging times and improved lifespan compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Holst Centre’s battery is made of an array of micropillars that are covered with thin layers of functional material. Each pillar can be considered to be a mini-battery, consisting of an – obviously solid – electrolyte sandwiched between two electrodes. The engineers at Holst Centre are confident they can manufacture these delicate structures in high volumes using spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD), a high-throughput deposition technique originally developed by TNO for solar cell manufacturing.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the province of North Brabant share that conviction and are investing 3 and 1.5 million euros, respectively, in the project.