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Oxide all-solid-state batteries replace liquid electrolytes with solid-state electrolytes, significantly improving the safety and energy density of batteries. By using oxide materials as electrolytes, this new type of battery technology not only addresses issues like lithium dendrite growth and thermal runaway but also demonstrates higher thermal stability and mechanical strength.
This article will explore the basic concepts, main advantages, and technological challenges of oxide all-solid-state batteries. With ongoing technological breakthroughs and expanding market demand, oxide all-solid-state batteries are expected to become a key driver in energy transformation, bringing profound changes to fields like renewable energy.
Solid-state batteries use solid-state battery electrolyte. Traditional lithium-ion batteries consist of positive and negative electrode materials, electrolyte, and a separator to conduct ions and transmit current.
However, the organic solvents in liquid electrolytes are flammable and highly corrosive, with poor oxidation resistance, and cannot address lithium dendrite issues, leading to thermal runaway risks and limiting the application of high-voltage positive electrodes and lithium metal negative electrodes. In contrast, solid-state batteries replace part or all of the liquid electrolyte with a solid-state electrolyte, significantly improving the safety and energy density of the battery, making it a potential long-term technology direction for existing material systems. For example, solid state ev batteries feature high energy density which greatly reduce the weight of batteries used in vehicles.
Solid-state electrolytes use polymer/oxide/sulfide systems as solid electrolytes, separated into thin films to replace separators. Among these, polymers have lower performance limits, oxides are currently progressing faster, and sulfides have the greatest future potential.
The electrolyte in oxide all-solid-state batteries is a compound containing lithium, oxygen, and other components (phosphorus/titanium/aluminum/lanthanum/germanium/zinc/zirkonium) and can be categorized into crystalline and non-crystalline types. Non-crystalline types are mainly LiPON, while crystalline types can be further divided into perovskite-type (LLTO), anti-perovskite-type, garnet-type (LLZO), NASICON-type (LATP), and LISICON-type.
Polymer systems were first commercialized in Europe. Although they are easy to process, have compatible production processes, good interface compatibility, and strong mechanical properties, they have low ionic conductivity at room temperature, a narrow electrochemical window, limited improvements in thermal stability and energy density, which restricts their large-scale application.
Sulfides have the greatest potential due to their high conductivity, strength, processing performance, and good interface compatibility, but they are poorly compatible with positive electrode materials, unstable with lithium metal, sensitive to oxygen and moisture, potentially polluting, and require complex production processes.
The oxide system has moderate preparation difficulty, and many Chinese battery manufacturers choose this route, expecting to use it in combination with polymers. It offers the best overall performance, with a balance of conductivity and stability, moderate mass production difficulty, and currently advancing rapidly.
Oxide all-solid-state batteries are a new type of battery technology characterized by high safety, high energy density, high power, and temperature adaptability, making them one of the preferred options for next-generation battery technologies. However, there are still some controversies and challenges regarding the reliability of oxide all-solid-state batteries.
First, the conductivity and stability of oxide all-solid-state batteries are their greatest advantages. Oxide electrolytes have higher ionic conductivity compared to polymer electrolytes, with thermal stability up to 1000 degrees Celsius, and excellent mechanical and electrochemical stability. This gives oxide all-solid-state batteries significant advantages in terms of safety and reliability, allowing them to be used in delivery e-bike for example.
Second, the manufacturing cost of oxide all-solid-state batteries is relatively low. Compared to sulfide electrolytes, oxide electrolytes have lower processing costs and are easier to produce on a large scale. Additionally, the raw materials for oxide electrolytes are more abundant and do not rely on rare elements, which helps reduce battery costs.
However, oxide all-solid-state batteries also face several technological challenges. Oxide materials are very hard, leading to severe “solid-solid contact” issues in solid state battery, which affect the battery’s conductivity. Although this can suppress lithium dendrite growth and enhance inherent safety, it also makes it more likely to encounter problems at the solid-solid interface between positive and negative electrodes.
When the positive and negative electrode materials undergo volume changes during charge and discharge, the brittle oxide electrolytes are at risk of cracking, making the solid-solid interface contact issues more severe, ultimately affecting the cycle life of the battery.
Therefore, many battery companies have set the breakthrough goal for oxide solid-state electrolytes primarily to enhance safety. This is not due to a lack of innovation but rather a realistic consideration of the “shortest board” solution.
Theoretically, solutions can be achieved through coating, powder co-sintering, in-situ growth of electrode layers, coating, modifying the electrolyte surface, and sputtering deposition of electrode layers. Among these, coating processes are relatively easy to control, while sputtering deposition of electrode layers requires high equipment and process standards, involving vacuum conditions. Teams using sputtering deposition need to determine if they can achieve a dense and uniform electrode layer.
Modifying electrolytes is a common improvement approach in laboratories but requires analysis combined with specific positive and negative electrode materials and electrolyte matching, demanding high flexibility and industry chain collaboration, which makes practical implementation challenging.
Despite mechanical strength limitations, many industry manufacturers still prepare oxide electrolytes in thin-film form to shorten ion transport paths, increase contact area with electrodes, coordinate volume changes to reduce stress and extend cycle life, and facilitate modularization and system integration.
Additionally, the lithium-ion conductivity of oxide electrolytes is lower than that of liquid electrolytes, sulfides, and halides, and there is no significant advantage compared to polymers. This characteristic ultimately limits the fast-charging performance of the battery.
In addition to technological challenges, the commercialization of oxide all-solid-state batteries also faces market and policy factors. Currently, the market size for all-solid-state batteries is relatively small and needs to expand application fields and market demand.
The industry is currently exploring innovative technical solutions. For example, making the electrolyte very thin can compensate for the low conductivity of oxide electrolytes. Additionally, advanced manufacturing processes like screen printing can achieve large-scale production of oxide all-solid-state batteries and reduce costs.
From the current progress, some leading companies and research institutions have achieved breakthroughs in the field of oxide all-solid-state batteries. For example, QuantumScape’s oxide all-solid-state batteries have achieved high areal capacity and rate performance, showing good application prospects. Additionally, SAIC Motor is actively investing in oxide all-solid-state batteries, planning to achieve mass production by 2026.
As an emerging technology, oxide all-solid-state batteries, despite existing technological challenges and market factors, already show great development potential and application prospects.
With continuous technological advancements and market maturation, oxide all-solid-state batteries are expected to achieve large-scale commercial applications in the coming years, bringing revolutionary changes to fields like electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
At the same time, we also see that, apart from oxide all-solid-state batteries, other types of all-solid-state batteries like sulfides and polymers are also developing rapidly. In the future, different types of all-solid-state batteries may play their respective advantages in various application scenarios, collectively advancing battery technology and industry development.
As a cutting-edge technology, the development of oxide all-solid-state batteries requires joint efforts from industry, academia, and research sectors. Governments, enterprises, universities, and research institutions need to strengthen cooperation to drive technological breakthroughs, standard formulation, and market cultivation.
Only in this way can oxide all-solid-state batteries truly make the leap from the laboratory to commercialization and contribute significantly to social and economic development.
Looking ahead, we have reason to believe that, with continuous technological progress and market maturation, oxide all-solid-state batteries will show broader application prospects and become an important force in driving energy transformation and industrial upgrading. Let us look forward to witnessing this great technological revolution.
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