Ric Fulop on How A123 Cells are Made, Nanophosphate Cathode Patent Awarded
Yesterday A123 Systems, one of the two companies awarded Chevy Volt contracts announced that they were awarded a key patent for their proprietary nanophosphate lithium-ion battery cathode. their system is widely acclaimed for its thermal stability as well as energy and power density, and getting this patent is critical for the companies future success. Per A123 CEO David Vieau “The award of this patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is recognition of the leading-edge innovation on which our batteries are based.”
Source (sys-con)
I recently caught up with Ric Fulop, the VP of marketing of A123Systems. It was the first opportunity I had to speak with him since GM received the first prototype pack from A123/Continental in late January.
We had a rather wide-ranging discussion on everything from how li-ion cells are made to politics to financial issues. No transcript is available this time.
We discussed how lithium-ion cells are made. The basic structure is called an electrode stack. On one side is a thin aluminum metal foil, with a thin coating that includes the cathode material, binders and additives, in the center is the separator and the electrolyte solution containing the lithium ion salt. The other half of the structure is a thin copper film coated with the anode material, binders and more additives. These electrodes are stacked together into what is known as a “jelly roll” which composes the main bulk of the cell. The cell contains a variable number of electrodes depending on the total energy and power the cell requires for its intended operation. Ric tells me amusingly that these terms such as “prismatic” for square-shaped” and jelly roll are generally derived from the broken English translations occurring when they were first invented. Reminds me of the famous “all your base are belong to us”.
A123 has completed the design of the cell specific for the Volt and its cells appear in the first Continental pack GM received on January 31st.
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9 Responses to “Ric Fulop on How A123 Cells are Made, Nanophosphate Cathode Patent Awarded”
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March 5th, 2008 at 7:15 am
I would venture to guess that the reason that the pack is late to GM is that they were waiting on the patent to be issued to protect their IP.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:42 am
How is the consisyency from cell to cell? I tthink they still have problem, cell won’t last long at deep DOD unless they can ensure consistency.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:13 am
An excellent, simple description of what Li-Ion cells look like internally, Lyle! This is likely one of the very first patents issued to A123 (of roughly 160 filed so far).
Patents help keep others from "reverse engineering" a design lest they be sued for infringement, but once issued a patent is freely available for examination. (After application for a patent its status is "Pat. Applied For" & it is NOT in the public files, nor can copies be obtained —so, ironically, the safest patent protection period is the several years between its application & its issue.)
So Pat, I can assure you A123 was not waiting for this patent to be issued to deliver the first pack to GM!
(BTW, the Volt uses prismatic cells because they can be packaged very efficiently into packs. Tesla uses "jelly roll" cells (shaped like AA cells), which wastes space between cells because of their cylindrical shape).
March 5th, 2008 at 10:16 am
This is a pretty interesting episode of How it’s Made, and shows how Li-ion car batteries are made. These look to be prismatic cells, just doesn’t tell you which Co is making them.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HJrNCjVS0gk
March 5th, 2008 at 10:25 am
My understanding is they wouldn’t have had to delay delivery for patent reasons. The bar is a public offering. You are still allowed to deliver to a single customer on a development basis without affecting patent status.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
nasaman. The space in the Tesla design is needed to run coolent. Remember they use the higher density Li Colbolt chemistry, so there’s more heat to disperse.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Per A123 CEO David Vieau “The award of this patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is recognition of the leading-edge innovation on which our batteries are based.”
I would not go as far as to say that! I do not believe the US Patent Office is in the business of judging the technical prowness of the submitted inventions or their value. Primary consideration is given to originality and substantiating documentation. I am sure there are several patents approved historically that have not amounted to anything. Not to knock A123 but let’s not put the US Patent Office in the Business fo recommending Products, which they are not and might take offense. I have heard nothing from GM that speaks of the "leading edge innovation" in their testing results of A123’s submission thus far.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Patience is a virtue even in this realm.
GM is VERY concerned about its credibility and future business activity on this 100th anniversary of its existence.
We will probably get info in very small doses and reach a viable conclusion assuming the facts of development are accurate.
"Leading edge" or "slam dunk" are not ALWAYS appropriate business decisions for ANY company!
By the way, we ALL are having a bit of a problem with our current economy throughout every component of it.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Please don’t sell the patent to an oil company or GM! Just bring back the EV-1 and scrap the Volt PR car. I will never buy a GM vehicle. Movie - “Who killed the electric car”