Custom Cells

CUSTOM CELLS

Navitas occupies a unique industry niche, in that we not only can produce custom cells at the lab scale, but can also produce cells at low-mid volume at an automated production scale.

WHAT CAN BE PRODUCED?

NAVITAS DESIGN CAPABILITY

Standard or custom size and form factors
Turnkey development, or build to customer specifications
Prismatic and exotic geometry cells
Pouch cells and metal can cells
Non-commercial chemistries and design for extreme applications
Standard or advanced lithium-ion cell chemistries: Graphite, Silicon, LTO Anodes, LFP, NMC, NCA, LCO, High V Cathodes.
High power density to high energy density cells: 60-300 wh/kg high energy

R&D Prototyping:

Navitas’ R&D lab readily builds these form factors at various cell thicknesses up to 8mm:

35×56 (~0.5―1.5Ah)
55×105 (~1―6Ah)
114×175 (~6-18Ah)
Thickness >8mm is now possible using heavier gauge laminate pouch material

Custom pouch cell development possible. Wide variety of sizes, depths, shapes, chemistries:

Rectangular
Square
Notched or curved
Circular
Symmetrical or asymmetrical

18650 cell capability anticipated in 1Q2021

Production Cell Assembly:

In-house automated production pouch cell line
Flexible line can support any reasonable pouch cell shape, including notched, curved, round, asymmetrical
Size range currently supported: 20x30mm – 200x200mm
Larger form factors possible with additional equipment or production at partner site

Cell Chemistries available:

Anodes – all major anodes supported:

Synthetic and natural graphites sourced from vendors and locations around the globe
Silicon composite anodes
LTO

Cathodes – all major cathodes supported:

LFP, LMFP
NMC 111 – NMC 811
NCA
LCO

Development or specialty materials can be roll-to-roll coated with as little as 100g of powder
Separators: we have relationships with major and specialty product brands
Electrolytes: custom blends possible at R&D and production scale through vendor network

High Power Cells

One of the core competencies of Navitas ASG’s cell R&D team is the development of high power cells. Several team members were key contributors to the development of A123 Systems’ AHR18700M1 Formula 1 racing cell, as well as to the development of later generations of the cell. This expertise served the ASG site well during later cell development projects, and two notable high power cells were developed for U.S. Government applications.

Small format prismatic advanced lithium iron phosphate cell

A small format, high power cell was developed and validated in bench-level testing. The cell chemistry was based on the AHR18700M1 chemistry (capable of 100+ C-Rate discharge), but further optimized for greater energy and power density, and packaged in a soft pouch-type prismatic package.

Large format prismatic metal oxide cell

A large format mid-to-high power prismatic cell is currently in development at Navitas ASG. This cell features metal oxide chemistry, and is engineered for a balance of mid-to-high power along with moderate energy density (3800 W/kg, 150 Wh/kg). It is presently optimized for high power operation in low-temperature environments (10C at -18°C, 4C at -40°C)—a difficult operating regime for lithium-ion chemistry cells and a main driver of the cell’s overall high power design.

Prismatic pouch and custom metal can cells

In addition to specifically high power cells, Navitas ASG has developed a variety of custom lithium-ion cells. More than ten custom lithium-ion cells have been designed and prototyped. Due to the high packaging and high packing efficiencies of prismatic cells, Navitas ASG has concentrated on prismatic cell design of both pouch-type cells and cells packaged in custom metal cans. The capacities of our cell portfolio range between 22mAh (a small, extremely thin metal can cell) and 45Ah (a large size metal can cell) with most cells in the 2 to 12Ah range. Cell chemistries have ranged from standard or custom nanophosphate to advanced custom metal oxide chemistries featuring extremely high energy density (600 Wh/L).