GAIA Li-Ion Batteries: Evolution or Revolution? - ExtraEnergy.org

GAIA Li-Ion Batteries: Evolution 

or Revolution? 

GAIA Europe 

Company Secretary 

Tim Schäfer 

Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH, Nordhausen, Nordhausen, 

Germany 

Lithium Technology Corporation, Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA 

November 2005

Proprietary Information, November,2005 

Overview 

Company Overview 

Technology 

Manufacturing Process 

Product Portfolio 

Target Markets 

Hybrid Electrical Vehicle Battery 

• Cell Level 

- Discharge Performance 

- Cycle Life 

- Calendar Life and Self Discharge 

- Safety Aspects 

• Battery Management System 

• Battery Level 

- Design of 288V Battery and Prototype 

- Pulse Power Performance 

• Applications 

Developments 

Summary

Company Overview


History 

April 1996 Founding of GAIA 

1997 Proprietary extrusion process 

1998 Arch Hill, a Dutch venture capital 

company, acquires majority share of GAIA 

1999 Installation of three pilot extrusion lines 

2000 Refinement of battery production facilities 

2002 Merger of GAIA and LTC 

2003 Market entry with large format Lithium 

ion cells 

2005 Market entry with Lithium ion batteries


Corporate Structure 

Lithium Technology Corporation is a Public US Corporation 

traded on the OTC Bulletin Board (LTHU.OB) 

LTC and GAIA were merged in 2002 combining two 

synergistic technologies 

(US Operations) 

Plymouth Meeting 

Pennsylvania (USA) 

Lithium Technology Corporation 

Plymouth Meeting 

Pennsylvania (USA) 

GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke, GmbH 

Nordhausen 

Thuringia (Germany)


Facilities 

US Operations 

(LTC - Plymouth Meeting) 

• Corporate Headquarters 

• US Government/Military 

Development Contracts 

• R & D and cooperative 

programs with US raw 

material suppliers 

• US Sales 

• Battery design and assembly 

using GAIA cells 

• Limited contract production 

of specialty flat cells 

European Operations 

(GAIA - Nordhausen) 

• European Development 

Contracts 

• R & D and cooperative 

programs with EU raw 

material suppliers 

• European Sales 

• Commercial Production of 

cylindrical cells 

• Battery design and 

assembly


Current Operations 

Small Production/Large Pilot Scale Operation 

•57 Employees (17 in US, 40 in Germany) 

•FACILITIES 

• 176,000 ft 2 facility in Nordhausen, Germany 

• 13,000 ft 2 facility in Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA 

• PRODUCTS: 

• Custom engineered batteries 

• Development contracts 

• Cylindrical and prismatic Lithium-Ion cells 

- from 5 Ah to 120 Ah

GAIA Technology


Principle of Lithium Ion Batteries 

– 

e - 

e - 

e - 

Discharge Current I 

Copper 

neg. Collector 

(Anode) 

Li x C 6 

A 

Li + conductive 

Electrolyte 

Li + 





Li 1-x MO 2 

Charge Current I 

e - 

e - 

e - 

Aluminium 

pos. Collector 

(Cathode) 

+


Technological Advantages of Lithium-Ion over other 

Chemistries 

Energy per Weight 

Energy per Volume 

Power per Weight 

Power per Volume 

Fast Charge 

Heat Generation 

Operational 

Temperature Range 

Battery Complexity 

(Number of Cells) 

Lead Acid 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Poor 

High 

Narrow 

Medium 

(2V per cell) 

NiMH 

2 x 

1.5 x 

5 to 10 x 

3 to 6 x 

Good 

Low 

Wide 

High 

(1.2V per cell) 

Li_Ion 

3 x 

2 x 

5 to 15 x 

3 to 10 x 

Very Good 

Very Low 

Very Wide 

Low 

(3.6V per cell)


LTC Differentiators 

Proprietary cell design IP 

• Low internal resistance allows for high power output and 

rapid charging with limited heat generation 

Proprietary manufacturing process 

• Lower cost extrusion and assembly allows scalability and 

opportunity for high gross margins 

• Environmentally friendly (no solvents) 

Patents 

• Issued 33 

• Applications Pending 42


Li-Ion Technology 

I II III IV V 

I: Al-Collector (18-25 m) 

II: Positive Electrode (40-200 m) 

III: Separator (16 – 35 m) 

IV: Negative Electrode (30-150 m) 

V: Cu-Collector (12-20 m)

Manufacturing Process


Process - Extrusion 

graphit, polymers 

and carbon black 

mixing and drying of 

anode materials 

LiCoO2, 

polymers and 

carbon black 

mixing and drying of 

cathode materials 

y g g y y 

dry blend 

anode 

dry blend 

cathode 

electrolyte 

electrolyte 

polymer anode 

on carrier foil 

polymer cathode 

on carrier foil 

No emission of solvents 

Safe and environmental 

No ex-proof installation 

Cost-effective 

Co-extrusion of polymer blends


Process - Lamination 

anode 

material on 

carrier foil 

1 

lamination of 

anode 

laminate of 

anode / Cu / anode


Processing Technology - Winding & Assembling 

cell winding machine 

anode polymer electrolyte 

polymer electrolyte 

cathode 

cathode current 

collector "Al" 

lid with 

terminals 

laser welding 

anode current 

collector "Cu" 

tab and lid 

assembly 

housing

GAIA Product Portfolio


GAIA Product Portfolio 

Present cylindrical cells 

range in capacity from 5 Ah to 

60 Ah 

GAIA offers two basic types 

of products taylored to 

different applications 

• The HE product series is optimized towards high energy content 

with moderate rate capability (continuous discharge up to 2C) 

• The HP and UHP series are designed to deliver maximum power 

(continuous discharge up to 10C) 

GAIA has developed battery packs of up to 600V to customer 

specifications


Battery Systems Comparison - Ragone Plot


Large, High Power Engineered Lithium Ion Is LTC’s Core 

Expertise 

GAIA cells offer the highest power of any commercial 

lithium ion cell in the western hemisphere* (most amperes 

or watts per kilogram) 

• GAIA UHP product achieves 2400 W/kg (pulse) 

GAIA cells are the largest lithium ion cells produced in the 

western hemisphere (most energy capacity - watt-hours or 

amp hours) 

• GAIA HE-602050 has 60 Ah or 216 Wh corresponding to 150 

Wh/kg 

• 120 Ah cell is in development 

LTC specializes in working with the customer to engineer 

solutions using standardized cells in customized 

configurations 

• Custom engineered battery packs including electronic battery 

management systems 

* US and EU companies have an advantage selling the western hemisphere being 

domestic suppliers and it is unrealistic for US and EU companies to sell into Asia.

GAIA Markets


Markets with Projected Growth in Advanced Batteries 

Military/National 

Security 

Applications require 

flexibility in design, wide 

ranges of power output, 

broad operating 

temperatures, low weight 

and thousands of recharge 

cycles. Performance is more 

important than price. 

Market need is growing 

quickly. Development 

funding is available. 

Transportation 

Applications require rapid 

charging rates and long 

life in safe, durable high 

power storage for HEV, EV 

and fuel cell powered 

vehicles. Military, heavy 

duty and niche vehicle 

OEMs are early adopters. 

Immediate niches exist. 

Stationary Power 

Growing dependence on 

electrical power worldwide 

drives the demand for high 

quality high-reliability power 

for telecommunications, 

computers, mission critical 

applications, remote mobile 

and renewable power 

applications. Very large 

potential market.


Military/ National Security Market 

The US and its allies are changing the military 

landscape. The trend is to many small, rapidly deployed 

units using extensive power-intensive electronics. 

Applications already exist in this market and continue 

to grow rapidly. 

• Unmanned reconnaissance and combat support systems 

-- airborne, ground, underwater 

• Satellite surveillance and communications systems 

• Remotely controlled surveillance, detection and demolition robots 

• Manned combat support vehicles -- land-based and underwater 

• “Silent Watch” (stealth operations on battery power only) 

• Night goggles, communications equipment, GPS, computers, 

handheld spotlights, etc.


Transportation Market 

American and European auto manufacturers are now 

taking the Japanese HEV effort seriously 

• Existing applications (lithium ion SLI [starting, lighting & ignition] batteries) 

- Motorcycles 

- Racing cars 

- Certain very high end automobiles – dual battery systems 

• Developing applications / trends (HEVs,EVs) 

- Wheelchairs 

- Taxies 

- City delivery vans 

- All terrain vehicles (ATVs) & snowmobiles for national parks 

- Professional lawn and garden 

- Neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs)


Stationary Power Market 

Growing dependence on digital devices for mission 

critical applications drives demand for uninterrupted 

(distributed) power and backup power. Life cycle value 

of lithium ion over lead acid is a key market advantage. 

• Existing applications 

- Telecom: lower cost of cooling/heating the facilities; less maintenance; 

remote monitoring 

- Solar: less maintenance, longer battery life 

- UPS: space/weight savings, higher reliability, less maintenance, 

longer life and lower life cycle cost 

• Developing applications / trends 

- New wireless network installations with lower cost infrastructure 

- Heightened awareness of need for backup systems following storms and 

blackouts 

- Wind and solar power


Rechargeable Battery Market Size for National Security, 

Transportation, and Stationary Power 

2003 2011 

Conventional Advanced Total Conventional Advanced Total 

Transportation $ 8,000 $ 50 $ 8,050 $ 7,400 $ 1,400 $ 8,800 

National Security $ 2,000 $ 200 $ 2,200 $ 2,200 $ 500 $ 2,700 

Stationary Power $ 5,000 $ 50 $ 5,050 $ 6,500 $ 250 $ 6,750 

Total $ 15,000 $ 300 $ 15,300 $ 16,100 $ 2,150 $ 18,250 

Continuous growth of the advanced market over 700% in 8 years 

Within the advanced market, lithium ion will grow faster than competing 

chemistries 

Sources: Frost & Sullivan, LTC investigations 

Conventional: Lead-Acid 

Advanced: Li-Ion, NiCd, NiMH


Partnerships that have Developed as a Result of Our 

Demonstrated Capabilities 

GAIA GmbH has entered into a contract with a 

European submarine manufacturer to jointly develop 

and supply very large lithium ion cells for 

underwater non-nuclear submarine propulsion 

LTC has signed a contract with a major US battery 

company to develop and supply rack-mounted 

backup power supplies 

LTC is discussing a joint venture arrangement with a 

small European EV/HEV manufacturer to supply 

batteries for inclusion in the drive train for HEVs/EVs

HP-341450 Cell for 

Hybrid Electrical Vehicle Battery


Cells for HEV Batteries 

DD cell UHP341450 "7.5Ah" 

Diameter 34 mm 

Height (w/o terminals) 145 mm 

Weight 320 g 

Volume (w/o terminals) 132 cm3 Case material Stainless steel


GAIA 7.5Ah DD HEV Cells 

Discharge Curves: 20°C at Different Rates 

Voltage / V 

4.5 

4 

3.5 

3 

2.5 

2 

DD646 

C-Rate 

0.4 1 2 3 5 7 9 10 

12 14 15 17 19 21 

0 2 4 

Discharge Capacity / Ah 

6 8


Discharge Curves: C/2 at Different Temperatures 

Voltage / V 

4.5 

4 

3.5 

3 

2.5 

2 

DD646 

temperature during test / °C 

~40°C 

0 2 4 6 8 

Discharge Capacity / Ah 

-30 

-20 

0 

20


HP341450: 250A Pulse for 500ms 

Current(A) 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

-100 

-200 

1-001 Current(A) 

1-001 Voltage(V) 

~2400W/kg 

-300 

0 

44000 44500 45000 45500 46000 46500 47000 47500 48000 

Test_Time(s) 

4.5 

4 

3.5 

3 

2.5 

2 

1.5 

1 

0.5 

Voltage(V)


Cycle Performance at 100% DoD 

Capaccity / % of C ini 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0% 

Charge: C/2 to 4.2V, taper to C/10 

Discharge: 1 min @ 4C, than 1C to 3V 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 

Cycle


Cycling Experiments (Summary) 

Capacity / x-fold C nom 

100000 

10000 

1000 

100 

extrapolated, no fade 

after 300k 1% cycles 

4.5C CHR 

and 3C DCH 

3C CHR and 

3C DCH 

extrapolated after 

22k cycles 

1 10 100 

DOD / % 

Min 

Max 

C/2 CHR and 

~1C DCH


Calendar Life & Self Discharge 

Capacity / Ah 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

LiNiCoO2/MCMB System 

20°C 40°C 

Capacity 

rev. Capacity loss 

0 50 100 150 

Time / days 

200 250 

0 

300 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

rev. Cap. loss / % per month


Safety Tests on Cell Level 

Electrical Tests 

Short Circuit at RT 

Short Circuit at 

Abnormal 60°C* Charge 

Abnormal Discharge 

Mechanical Tests 

Crush 

Impact 

Shock* 

Vibration 

Fall 

Environmental Tests 

Temperature Cycling 

Heating* 

Altitude Simulation 

temperature rise 

sparks and smoke 

small deformation 

small dent 

de-contacting 

small dents 

 

 

** 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According 

to UL1642 

and ADR 

Summary of tests on 

7.5 and 60Ah cells 

*small variation to 

the standard 

** not a requirement 

on the cell level

Battery Management System


Justification for the Battery Management System 

The recommended battery charging method is IUcharging 

(const. current, const. voltage) 

But: 

• In a serial string the charger can not control individual 

cell voltages. 

• Li-Ion cells do not tolerate overcharging with 

“elevated” voltages for balancing the cells 

(e.g. “float or boost charging”) 

• Abuse or operation out of range could result in safety 

issues by thermal runaway 

Li-Ion Batteries require a battery management 

system (BMS) or an electronic protection circuit


Block Diagram of BMS 

SOC 

SOH 

Data acquisition 

U I T R 

Energy 

management 

Safety management 

Thermal 

management 

Fan, etc.. 

Comm. 

unit 

Contactor 

Battery 

CAN 

Load & 

Charger


Sensors 

& main 

switch 

Example of 10S BMS Hardware 

Current sensor 

130 cm 2 

CAN 

interface 

P 

Master Slave (10S) 

RS232 for 

flashing 

Master 

Optically 

decoupled 

RS485 bus 

P 

to cells 

40 cm 2 

MUX

288V Hybrid Electrical Vehicle Battery 

with 80S HP-341450 Cell


288V HEV Battery with 2kWh 

Weight of cell 0.32 kg 

Number of cells 80 

Packaging 30 % 

Weight today 42 kg 

Weight 33 kg 

Length 700 mm 

Width 292 mm 

Height 195 mm 

Volume 40 L 

Power (18s) 25 kW


“Peukert” Plot of a Simulated HEV Battery 

Cont. discharge time / s 

10000 

1000 

100 

10 

1 

40°C 

20°C 

0°C 

-20°C 

-30°C 

of 288V HEV battery 

Power calculated with BSF=80 

Cold 

Cranking 

Power 

PNGV 

Power Assist 

DC HEV 

Spec 

PNGV 

Dual 

Mode 

FreedomCar 

1 10 

Power / kW 

100


Hybrid Pulse Power Test 

Current / I max 

1 

0 

-1 

DM PA 

OCV 

Discharge 

Regen 

OCV 

PA 

DM 

0 10203040506070 

Time / sec 

Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization 

(HPPC) 

PNGV Battery Test Manual, Feb., 2001 

FreedomCAR Battery Test Manual For Power- 

Assist HEV, Oct., 2003 

Discharge 

C/1 

Regen 

Time 

10% 

C/1 

HPPC Profiles 

10% 

C/1


Cells: Resistance and OCV 

BSF = 80


Battery 288V: HPPC Profile 

Discharge Power / kW 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

100 

10s 

18s 

measurement by ZSW 

~ 1600W/kg 

80 

FreedomCAR Requirements 

=> ca. 20..80% SOC, >1kWh 

60 

40 

State of Charge / % 

~ 1400W/kg 

20 

10 s CHR 

18 s CHR 

10 s DCH 

18 s DCH 

10s 

18s 

CHR 

0 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Charge Power / kW


Gap Analysis to USABC requirements 

PNGV FreedomCar 

Chara cteristic Unit PA PA Min 42V SS achieved 

Pulse Discharge kW 18sec@25 10sec@25 2sec@6 70 

Pulse Charge (regen) kW 2sec@30 10sec@20 N/A 55 

Available Energy kWh 0.3 (@ C/1) 0.3 (@C/1) 0.25 (@3kW) 1 

Efficiency round-trip % 90 (25Wh) 90 (25Wh) 90 95 

Cold Cranking @ –30°C 

(3x 2sec, 10 sec. rests) 

Cycle Life Cycles 300k total 

7.5MWh 

kW 5 5 8 (21V Cold 

Start Profile) 

300k total 

7.5MWh 

150k ZPA 

450k Starts 

10 

>300k 

Calendar Life Years 15 6-8 

Weight / Volume kg / L 40 / 32 40 / 32 10 / 9 42/40 

Max. Voltage V 440 400 48 (OCV) 336 

Min. Voltage V 0.55*V max 0.55*V max 27 185 

Max. Self Discharge Wh/Day 50 20 5%/m=4 

Operation Temperature °C -30 to +52 (-30 to 40°C) -30..40 

Storage Temperature °C -46 to +66 (-40 to 60°C) 

Cost $ 300/kWh 500/unit 150/unit more 

288 V / 2.1 kWh HEV Battery

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Profile


Specification for HEV-Bus: 100kW with 45Ah Cells 

1C Cycle 

Cells 

Height 

Width 

Length 

Volume 

Weight Cells 

Packaging 

Weight 

single 27Ah cell 

160 

320 

500 

1070 

171 

232 

25 

290 

mm 

mm 

mm 

l 

kg 

% 

kg

Developments


Capacity / Ah 

Cycling Data of LiFePO 4 System 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

cycling after deep discharge 

Cycle profile: 

CHR: 0.8C rate to 4.0V taper to C/20 

DCH: 0.8C rate to 2.5V 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 

Cycles 

Ri Test: 

U/ I with 

5s pulse @ 

C/10 and C/1 

Ri DCH 

Ri CHR 

0.14 

0.12 

0.1 

0.08 

0.06 

0.04 

0.02 

0 

Resistance / Ohm


Ragone Plot DD-size Cell 

spec. Energy / Wh/kg 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

-30°C 

GAIA HE 

LiFePO 4 

0°C 

20°C 

40°C 

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 

spec. Power / W/kg 

GAIA UHP


Overcharging 

Change in Temp. / K 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Charging with 3x of the recommended charging current (1.5C-rate) 

LiNiCoMO 2 


0 50 100 150 200 250 300 

SOC / % 

LiNiCoMO 2 

U>20V 


20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Voltage / V

Summary


Summary 

Large format, high power engineered Lithium Ion batteries are 

LTC's core expertise 

• Specific pulse power up to 2400 W/kg 

• Specific energy up to 150 Wh/kg 

• Cell energy content up to 216 Wh (60 Ah) 

LTC delivers customers with engineered battery packs from pilot 

facilities in Germany and the US 

• Military, transportation and stationary markets 

• Batteries up to 600 V 

Batteries with LTC's DD High Power cell meet the performance 

targets for Hybrid Electrical Vehicles 

• Power 

• Cycle life 

• Low temperature performance

GAIA Li-Ion Batteries: Evolution or Revolution? - ExtraEnergy.org

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