SpinCell

Fatih Altun graduated from Gebze Technical University, Materials Science and Engineering. His thesis work here was on solid oxide fuel cell production. He completed his master’s degree at Marmara University, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şengör and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damla Eroğlu Pala in 2024. His thesis work is on the development of cathodes in Li-S batteries by electrospinning method. He continues his doctoral education at Marmara University, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şengör completed his undergraduate education at Boğaziçi University, Mechanical Engineering Department. Şengör, who successfully completed his doctoral study on nanofiber production by electrospinning method in the field of manufacturing methods at the same university, has been working as a faculty member at Marmara University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Materials since 2020. His research interests include the synthesis and various applications of nanofibers and the adaptation of advanced manufacturing methods to different fields.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damla Eroğlu Pala completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in Chemical Engineering at Middle East Technical University. She later completed her doctoral studies at Columbia University on electrodeposition. She worked on batteries at Argonne National Lab as a postdoctoral researcher. She has many publications in high impact factor international journals and conferences in the field of batteries and electrochemistry and has received over 1000 citations.

Dr. Ayşegül Kılıç graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Chemical Engineering with undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees. She completed her thesis-based master’s and doctorate studies in the same department under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damla Eroğlu Pala. She used electrochemical characterization, modeling and data science methods in the development of Li-S batteries. Her doctoral thesis was awarded the Boğaziçi University Doctoral Thesis Award. She also has a Battery MBA certification.

Environmental Impacts and Sustainability: High water consumption in mining operations, damage to ecosystems due to soil and water pollution, and inadequate recycling are major problems.

Ethical and Human Rights Issues: Mining companies, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are associated with child labor, forced labor, and poor working conditions. There are also allegations that large mining companies are forcibly displacing local people from their lands.

Geopolitical Risks and Supply Chain Dependency: China is the world’s leader in battery raw material processing. Many countries are dependent on China for graphite and rare earth elements, which are critical in battery production. The US-China trade wars and Europe’s domestic production moves create uncertainty in the supply chain.

These metals increase costs and cause recycling problems.

Lithium-ion batteries have lower energy density compared to lithium-sulfur batteries

At the same time, the industry is looking for a replacement technology for lithium-ion battery technology, and lithium-sulfur technology is one of the most popular technologies.

Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Next Generation Batteries with High Energy Density

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are a new generation of rechargeable batteries that offer much higher energy density than traditional lithium-ion batteries. These batteries use lithium metal as the anode and sulfur (S₈) as the cathode. Theoretically, Li-S batteries have a very high specific energy of about 2600 Wh/kg, which is about 7 times that of lithium-ion batteries used today.

Working Principle

The working mechanism of lithium-sulfur batteries is based on the conversion of sulfur into soluble lithium polysulfides (Li₂S₆, Li₂S₄) and then into insoluble lithium sulfide (Li₂S) during charging and discharging. This process provides high capacity but also brings with it some significant challenges :

1. Low Cycle Life: The capacity of the battery can decrease rapidly due to structural deterioration of the cathode material and loss of lithium polysulfides by dissolving into the electrolyte.
2. Low Conductivity: Sulfur and lithium sulfide are electrical insulators, which can prevent the electrodes from operating efficiently.
3. Dendrite Formation: The use of lithium metal anodes can cause dendrite growth, which can shorten battery life and lead to safety issues.

Advantages

• High Energy Density: Can store up to 5 times more energy than lithium-ion batteries.
• Lighter: Sulfur is a much lighter material than metal oxides, reducing the weight of the battery.
• Lower Cost: Sulfur is a cheap material that is abundant in nature.

Application Areas

• Defense industry: Due to its high energy density, it can be used in defense industry communication devices.
• Electric Vehicles (EVs): Lithium-sulfur batteries can significantly increase the range of electric vehicles.
• Aerospace: Lightweight and high energy density batteries are ideal for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and space missions.
• Portable Electronics: Due to their high capacity, they can be used for laptops and smartphones in the future.

Conclusion

Lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential to revolutionize battery technology with their high energy density. However, improvements in cycle life, stability, and safety are required for commercial use. Many researchers are currently working on nanocomposite cathodes, electrolyte modifications, and advanced anode designs to solve these problems.

The technology we have developed is a production method that combines electrospinning and coating methods. Thanks to our unique method for which a patent application has been made, we can obtain flexible cathodes with high sulfur loading.

Our innovative approach, combining electrospinning and coating technologies that do not exist in the literature, sets a new standard for energy storage solutions by providing high energy density of up to 100% in the first year compared to lithium-ion batteries, in addition to competitive production speed. We expect this rate to increase to over 300% in the next 5 years.

Our unique method enables advanced advances in lithium-sulfur battery technology;

In addition to the nanocomposite cathode structure, which is the advanced material we developed, the solid hybrid electrolyte and interlayer extend the cycle life of the batteries we produce.