The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) has developed the world's first certified reference material for the cathode material of lithium-ion batteries. It enables quality assurance and further development in the area of the currently most powerful and successful battery types.
At the same time, it makes it possible to improve recycling processes and thus comply with recycling quotas as stipulated by the future EU Battery Regulation, thereby increasing the sustainability of lithium batteries. Cathodes are a crucial component of electric batteries and play a key role in the performance and efficiency of energy storage systems.
Cathodes are a critical component of electric batteries
To further improve the performance of batteries, it is essential to know high-quality cathode materials and their exact composition down to the particle level. Until now, there was no reference material that allowed the composition and thus also the quality and performance of cathode materials to be tested and compared. BAM is now closing this gap. The reference material was developed in close cooperation with the battery industry and tailored to their needs. It consists of nickel-manganese-cobalt-111 cathode material, which is used in lithium-ion systems. The exact mass percentages for lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt and seven other components are specified, as well as the particle size distribution and the specific surface area of the powder.
In future, the reference material can serve as a reliable benchmark for the characterization and evaluation of cathode material of the nickel-manganese-cobalt type, while at the same time enabling companies to control the quality of cathode material during production, compare it with each other and continuously improve it. The proportion of cobalt, the most expensive cathode material, can now also be determined and optimized, making battery production more economical and free of impurities. The reference material is of particular importance due to the new EU battery regulation recently passed by the EU Parliament, which stipulates fixed recycling quotas for components of lithium-ion batteries. With the reference material, cathode materials such as cobalt, nickel and manganese in used batteries can be identified, sorted and checked for quality and reusability.
