SIMBA · Scaling-up of ICP technology for continuous production of Metallic nanopowders for Battery Applications

Although the development of nanoparticles-based materials has advanced rapidly in recent years, industrial production techniques have not kept pace. At this point there is a substantial need for safe production facilities, enabling the synthesis of large amounts of metallic nanoparticles with controlled and uniform quality (particle size, particle size distribution, chemical composition, etc.). This project will respond to this need by developing an industrial production line including on-line monitoring systems, assuring at the same time safety for the operating personnel as well as for the surrounding environment. The nano-structured materials of interest for this project are silicon and silicon-based alloyed nanoparticles, which have a huge potential as anode material in battery applications. With the aim to realise long life, high capacity Li-ion batteries, a new anode material with a volumetric capacity three times higher than the standard graphite anode has to be developed. The potential to replace 50% of turnover of the battery graphite market will generate a business of min 200 Mio € per year. The overall objective of this project is to transfer the ICP processing knowledge and technology investigated at a lab-scale to an industrial scale apparatus for the continuous production of tailored oxygen-free Si-based nanopowders at a production rate between 1and 10 kg/hour.