A shoe for dispensing a molten metal such as lead into a mold cavity of a rotating drum to continuously cast a web of a plurality of serially connected grids or battery composite electrodes of a carbon fiber material with a cast metal conductor. The shoe may have at least one elongate orifice slot in a face confronting the drum, a molten metal supply passage communicating with the orifice slot and an excess molten metal return slot opening into the confronting face downstream of the supply slot relative generally to the direction of rotation of the drum.

A lithium metal is physically pressed to a silicon wafer having a uniform intaglio or embossed pattern formed thereon in advance, or liquid lithium is applied to the silicon wafer and may then be cooled in order to form a uniform pattern on the surface of the lithium metal.

The present disclosure provides for a lithium-sulfur battery with a dual blocking layer between the anode and cathode, providing for high storage capacity and improved performance.

Presented are lithium-metal electrodes for electrochemical devices, systems and methods for manufacturing lithium-metal foils, and vehicle battery packs containing battery cells with lithium-metal anodes. A method of melt spinning lithium-metal foils includes melting lithium (Li) metal stock in an actively heated vessel to form molten Li metal. Using pressurized gas, the molten Li metal is ejected through a slotted nozzle at the base of the vessel. The ejected molten Li metal is directly impinged onto an actively cooled and spinning quench wheel or a carrier sheet that is fed across a support roller underneath the vessel. The molten Li metal is cooled and solidified on the spinning wheel/carrier sheet to form a Li-metal foil. The carrier sheet may be a polymeric carrier film or a copper current collector foil. An optional protective film may be applied onto an exposed surface of the Li-metal foil opposite the carrier sheet.

An electrode assembly for a secondary battery and method are provided. The electrode assembly comprises a population of unit cells and a constraint system. The electrode assembly comprises a population of electrode structures, a population of counter-electrode structures, and an electrically insulating separator material. The constraint system comprises (i) first and second primary growth constraints separated in the longitudinal direction, (ii) first and second connecting members separated in the vertical direction that connect the first and second primary growth constraints and a subset of the members of the electrode or counter-electrode population. The first and second connecting members are adhered to the subset by an electrically-insulating, thermoplastic, hot-melt adhesive having (i) a melting temperature in the range of 75? C. to 130? C., and (ii) a melt index value as measured according to ASTM D1238 in a range of at least 20 to no more than 350.

A battery includes an anode, an electrolyte, and a cathode. The cathode includes a current collector having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, a first material layer comprising sub-fluorinated carbon fluoride (CF.sub.x), and a second material layer comprising silver vanadium oxide (SVO) bonded to the first material layer. The first material layer comprising CF.sub.x may also be bonded to a third material layer comprising SVO, and the third material layer is bonded to the first surface of the current collector.

A system for depositing a material includes a die and a flow guide. The die includes an opening and a cavity communicating with the opening. The die is configured to extrude the material in a principal deposition direction through the opening. The flow guide is disposed in the cavity and is configured to shape a flow of the material extruded by the die. The flow guide includes a flow narrowing portion and a flow shaping portion. The flow narrowing portion extends in a width direction perpendicular to the principal deposition direction so as to block the material from flowing through in the principal deposition direction. The flow shaping portion extends downstream from the flow narrowing portion in the principal deposition direction. A width of the flow shaping portion is smaller than, or decreases from, a width of the flow narrowing portion.

Cathode active materials for alkaline cells are disclosed. In particular, the cathode structures encompass conductive carbons introduced to the cathode so as to have a specific spatial orientation and/or a multi-carbon structure. The overall intent is to leverage the conductor(s) provided to the cathode structure to improve electronic and ionic conductance and, by extension, improve battery discharge performance.

An electrode assembly for a secondary battery and method are provided. The electrode assembly comprises a population of unit cells and a constraint system. The electrode assembly comprises a population of electrode structures, a population of counter-electrode structures, and an electrically insulating separator material. The constraint system comprises (i) first and second primary growth constraints separated in the longitudinal direction, (ii) first and second connecting members separated in the vertical direction that connect the first and second primary growth constraints and a subset of the members of the electrode or counter-electrode population. The first and second connecting members are adhered to the subset by an electrically-insulating, thermoplastic, hot-melt adhesive having (i) a melting temperature in the range of 75 C. to 130 C., and (ii) a melt index value as measured according to ASTM D1238 in a range of at least 20 to no more than 350.

An anode usable in a cell of a lithium-ion battery comprising an electrolyte based on a lithium salt and a non-aqueous solvent, to a process for manufacturing this anode and to a lithium-ion battery having one or more cells incorporating this anode. This anode is based on a polymer composition, obtained by melt processing and without solvent evaporation, that is the product of a hot compounding reaction between an active material and additives having a polymer binder and an electrically conductive filler. The binder is based on at least one crosslinked elastomer and the additives furthermore include at least one non-volatile organic compound usable in the electrolyte solvent, the composition advantageously includes the active material in a mass fraction greater than or equal to 85%.