A major milestone has been achieved by Sakuu Corporation: the successful completion of functional high-performance patterned batteries – a confirmation the industry has been waiting for ever since the company rebranded to reflect alignment with its advanced additive manufacturing platform.
While Robert Bagheri, the company’s CEO, had told 3D ADEPT that its modular 3D printing platform can enable applications beyond batteries, the focus on solid-state batteries is fostered by the need of applications of sustainable energy sources across a wide range of industries.
In this specific case, these batteries were printed as patterned cells containing patterned openings for thermal management, in a fully dry process, at Sakuu’s Silicon Valley battery pilot line facility. This marks an important step towards Sakuu’s planned commercial-scale production of next-generation SwiftPrint™ batteries, including solid-state batteries, from its Kavian™ platform in gigafactories worldwide.
Karl Littau, Chief Technology Officer at Sakuu commented: “Our development shows that the Kavian™ platform can enable commercial-scale, sustainable production of a wide range of battery technologies from lithium-ion to lithium metal to even solid-state batteries—whereas traditional methods of advanced cell manufacturing continually run into core impediments that prevent mass-scale production. Further, our printing process can allow for substantial gains in energy density for a completed battery. Finally, our platform can customize the form factor of the battery—whereby the battery itself can become part of product design via customized shapes and sizes. This is a profound moment with enormous implications for advanced battery manufacturing.”
As a reminder, the company’s process for printing batteries is based on a proprietary multi-material, multi-layer approach in a parallel and dry process, instead of slow layer-on-layer printing or screen-printing—inherently wet processes that require significant energy to remove unwanted solvents and are susceptible to poor printing quality and unreliable production. The Sakuu invention can deliver low-cost high-speed manufacturing capability coupled with flexibility in shape and form, while also delivering batteries in core categories that matter most to clients and customers alike. For example, Sakuu’s first printed batteries have demonstrated successful cycling performance at C/5, IC current rates, and expectations are to achieve high energy density at 800–1000 Wh/L.
Utilizing proprietary lithium metal battery chemistry, Sakuu’s printing process starts with raw material and ends with a ready-to-use patterned battery, creating a new paradigm in manufacturing and energy storage. The achievement of patterned battery printing enables a more effective use of battery cell volume with new pathways in thermal dynamic regulation. This allows integration of fixturing, sensors, and thermal transport pathways, as well as regulation through the patterned design—especially when thin sub-cell battery structures are stacked with identical patterned openings for thermal management in alignment.
“We believe we have the only known solution for manufacturing solid-state batteries at scale with our novel Kavian platform. Collectively, our additive manufacturing and battery teams have accomplished what most thought impossible,” said Sakuu Founder and CEO Robert Bagheri. “Printing custom patterned batteries using a dry process that starts with raw material and concludes with a fully functional high-performance battery is a breakthrough that has the potential to transform how batteries of the future are manufactured for all industries. This milestone advances integration between our Kavian platform and our commercial-scale battery production plans towards an energy output goal of 200GWh by 2030 via a network of global partner gigafactories.”
Sakuu’s Kavian™ platform will be sold to other battery manufacturers as well as leading automotive, e-mobility, and aerospace manufacturers. Those seeking to mass-produce batteries can shorten supply chain and gain key cell performance and safety attributes, as well as inherent material and energy savings, and sustainability benefits for maximum product design innovation. In addition, Sakuu plans on licensing its own battery chemistries, both Li-metal and solid-state, to be produced with either traditional roll-to-roll manufacturing or in gigafactories utilizing Kavian™ manufacturing.
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