Electric vehicle battery cell having water-based Li-ion anode slurry and process of preparing same

1. A method of providing an anode of a battery cell to power an electric vehicle, comprising:

forming a powder mix comprising a carbonaceous material and a conductive additive;

dividing the powder mix into a plurality of portions each within 10% by weight of each other;

generating a slurry by:

iteratively, for each of the plurality of portions, adding one of the plurality of portions to a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solution and mixing the CMC solution containing the one of the plurality of portions;

measuring a viscosity of the slurry subsequent to the mixing of the CMC solution containing the one of the plurality of portions;

adding DI water when the viscosity of the slurry is above 3000 cps;

adding additional powder mix when the viscosity of the slurry is below 2500 cps;

adding, subsequent to measuring the viscosity of the slurry, a binder including at least one of a styrene butadiene rubber solution and a polyacrylic acid solution to the slurry;

mixing the slurry containing the binder until two measurements of a slurry particle size indicate the slurry particle size is below 50 μm;

dispensing the slurry onto a face of a conductive film to a thickness in a range between 100 μm and 250 μm;

forming the anode from the conductive film; and

installing the anode into the battery cell of a battery pack to power the electric vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive film comprises at least one of aluminum, bismuth, antimony, zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and nickel.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbonaceous material comprises at least one of graphite, carbon fibers, active carbons, and carbon blacks.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive additive comprises at least one of conductive graphite and conductive carbon.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the added CMC solution is between 1.0% and 1.3% CMC by weight.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

mixing the CMC solution prior to adding the one of the plurality of portions in a roll mixer for between 12 hours and 24 hours.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

mixing the powder mix in a roll mixer for between 5 hours and 15 hours.

8. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

mixing the CMC solution containing the one of the plurality of portions at between 2000 revolutions/minute (RPM) and 2500 revolutions/minute for between 30 minutes and 90 minutes.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

mixing the slurry in a roll mixer for between 30 minutes and 90 minutes at between 15 RPM and 45 RPM.

10. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adding aqueous styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) solution to the slurry.

11. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

mixing the slurry at between 800 RPM and about 1200 RPM for between 2 minutes and 7 minutes; and

mixing the slurry in a roll mixer for between 45 minutes and 75 minutes at 30 RPM.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the slurry has a solid content between 45% and 55% by weight.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

drying the slurry dispensed on the face of the conductive film.

14. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

calendaring the slurry dispensed on the face of the conductive film.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CMC solution consists of CMC and water.

16. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adding an aqueous styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) solution, wherein a resulting slurry has an SBR content between 1% and 5% by weight.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein a final slurry solid material is 96.5% carbonaceous material, 0.5% conductive additive, and 3% SBR.

18. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adding an aqueous polyacrylic acid (PAA) solution, wherein a resulting slurry has a PAA content between 1% and 5% by weight.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein a final slurry solid material is 96.5% carbonaceous material, 0.5% conductive additive, and 3% PAA.