NICE’s Coal-based Electrochemical Energy Storage Material Pilot Test Base Kicks Off Trial Operation

On January 21, the coal-based electrochemical energy storage material mass production line developed by the National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy (NICE) under China Energy was completed and kicked off trial operation in Taixi Coal Washing and Dressing Center of Ningxia Coal Industry Co., Ltd., another subsidiary of China Energy. The pilot trial base can use coal and chemical byproducts to produce Li/Na-ion battery cathode materials for electrochemical energy storage with high added value.

Inside the pilot test base.

Through integrating internal resources of China Energy, NICE filled the void in the industry by using coal and coal chemical byproducts to develop several types of Li-ion battery cathode materials that it has independent intellectual property. According to test results, the high-power half-round button cell battery features a capacity 340mA/g, with a primary efficiency of more than 92% and a compressed density of 1.6g/cm³; The full-round battery can be recharged to 80% within 4.5 minutes and completely recharged in 9.8 minutes, and achieve up to 1,000 charge-discharge circles under 10C constant conditions, while maintaining over 80% of its capacity. This battery boasts fast charge and long life cycle, with great competitiveness in the market. Besides, NICE developed ultra-high-power cathode materials. The battery made with such materials has capacity 3-5 times of that of ordinary batteries in an -40℃ temperature, and can be recharged to 80% within five minutes under ordinary temperature conditions and achieve 10,000 5C charge-discharge circles. It also developed low-cost, long-life cathode products that can be used in electrochemical energy storage in large scale.

The electrochemical energy storage materials made of coal and coal chemical byproducts, developed by NICE, can be widely used in fields like new energy vehicles, large-scale power storage, consumer electronics, and transportation. The completion of the pilot test base indicates that NICE has been capable to carry out mass production of cathode materials for customers, thus accelerating the commercialization of its cathode materials. In addition, relying on this production line, NICE can further develop new electrochemical energy storage products for fragmented markets and enhance China Energy’s capacity in comprehensive use of coal-based materials, so as to lay a solid foundation for pushing forward the transformation of coal from “fuel” to “raw material” in the new energy industry and speeding up China’s energy restructuring and the goal of “peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060” as scheduled.