Making Iron‑based Lithium‑ion Battery Cathodes by the Molten Method

Prof. Michael Metzger
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) receives growing attention as a lithium-ion battery cathode material for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. This iron-based cathode material is an attractive alternative to nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes, due to its lower cost and improved safety.

Here we explore an alternative synthesis route to make LFP and LMFP – its manganese containing variant. The process has the potential to be fast, scalable, use low-cost precursors and produce zero waste. We will characterize the obtained materials by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and electrochemical performance tests.

Michael Metzger is the Herzberg-Dahn Chair at the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science at Dalhousie University. He received a diploma in Physics from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). During his graduate studies at TUM (2013-2017), he developed innovative methods to study the lifetime and aging of lithium-ion batteries in close collaboration with BASF and BMW. After that he worked in the Silicon Valley tech industry as a research engineer for Robert Bosch (2017-2020), the largest supplier for the automotive industry. There, he focused on solid-state lithium batteries and other energy storage and conversion technologies. During his time at Bosch, he held an affiliate status at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (2018-2020) with access to synchrotron-based x-ray techniques. His academic achievements are documented in 30 peer-reviewed articles, 10 patents, and several invited presentations at international conferences. He was awarded three major prizes, the Herbert H. Uhlig Summer Fellowship for 2016 by the Electrochemical Society (ECS), 2016 Evonik Industries Research Prize, and the 2017 PwC “Strategy&” Presidential Award.