A new ceramic sintering furnace for pilot production has been purchased by ION Storage Systems (ION), a prominent pioneer in next-generation solid-state battery (SSB) technology, at its Beltsville, Maryland, location. With the help of the cutting-edge machinery, ION’s yearly ceramic manufacturing capacity is expected to expand by almost 1,000 times, opening the door for future growth that will enable quick scaling to hundreds of megawatt-hours (MWh).
In order to manufacture ION’s exclusive and highly effective ceramic electrolyte, which forms the basis of its solid-state battery technology, sintering is an essential manufacturing step. The purchase of this new machinery by ION marks yet another big commercialization milestone, putting the business in a position to greatly increase the distribution of its proprietary solid-state battery cells to clients in a variety of market niches.
“I am excited for our new sintering furnace, as it gives us a clear path to reach commercial scale as well as serve as the launchpad for future expansion,” stated Dr. Greg Hitz, Co-Founder and CTO of ION Storage Systems. “We will have the infrastructure in place to deliver our current footprint as well as expand to large-format solid-state batteries, accelerating our ability to meet growing demand from OEMs, integrators, and government partners across market segments like consumer electronics and EV.”
The high-pressure packaging limitations that have traditionally impeded the adoption of solid-state batteries are removed by ION’s patented ceramic solid-state platform, which is built on an anodeless, compressionless, and three-dimensionally organized architecture. This architecture is especially supported by the new, sophisticated process equipment, which optimizes the sintering procedure to create high-performance ceramic electrolyte at scale without sacrificing quality.
By enabling modular and scalable stacking, ION’s zero-compression technique improves safety, manufacturability, and design flexibility for a variety of energy storage applications, in contrast to traditional solid-state systems that need pressure to maintain contact between layers.
This investment comes as ION successfully scaled their compression-free design toward full commercialization by producing multi-layer solid-state battery cells on its semi-automated manufacturing line.
“As we continue to prove out both performance and scalability, this new production capability will allow us to meet our customers’ demand head-on,” Hitz attached. “It’s the next step in our mission to power a limitless future with long-lasting, safe, and practical batteries.”
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