Ultra-lightweight rechargeable battery with enhanced gravimetric energy densities >750 Wh kg−1 in lithium–sulfur pouch cell

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) rechargeable batteries have been expected to be lightweight energy storage devices with the highest gravimetric energy density at the single-cell level reaching up to 695 Wh kg(cell)−1, having also an ultralow rate of 0.005 C only in the first discharge. Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) is one of the sulfur-based active materials, which allows more freedom in the Li–S cell design because it shows no undesirable reactions with electrolyte solutions. Here we present an original Li–S pouch cell construction, ADEKA’s Lithium–Sulfur/Pouch Cell (ALIS-PC). It is an ultra-lightweight rechargeable battery cell, which is designed by combining the SPAN cathode and effective ten technologies involving chemical engineering. As a result, the highest gravimetric energy densities of 713 and 761 Wh kg(cell)−1 after some charge-and-discharge cycles, which were based on the total mass of all cell components, were achieved with successful operating at 0.1 and 0.05C-rates, respectively, significantly exceeding those of commercial lithium-ion and next-generation rechargeable batteries in development. Kenji Kakiage and colleagues report an ultra-lightweight Li-S pouch cell with a gravimetric energy density of 761 Wh/kg. They use sulfurized polyacrylonitrile as a cathode active material, combining ten technologies for rechargeable batteries.